


Landing Space

by GlowingArrowsInTheSky



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: AU where Taako is imprisoned instead of Pringles, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Family, Gen, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers, Universe Alteration, irregular updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-02-05 12:35:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 61,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12794688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingArrowsInTheSky/pseuds/GlowingArrowsInTheSky
Summary: Ex-Reclaimer Taako has been locked up in the Bureau’s prison, and no one seems to know exactly why. When Angus McDonald takes it upon himself to investigate the matter, he finds himself wrapped up in a colorful tale of seven unlikely friends uniting against a common enemy, as told by Taako himself. But as the story progresses and the stakes (both imagined and real) start to rise, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur. With nothing to go off of but a string of symbols and a gaggle of not too not familiar characters in a cryptic fairytale, will Angus McDonald be able to solve this mystery and discover the story’s true meaning before it’s too late?Crossover with the 2006 film The Fall by Tarsem. Don't need to have seen the movie to enjoy the fic, but it's something I highly recommend going and watching because it's very unique and well-done.





	1. A Candlenights Mystery

**Author's Note:**

> **SPOILER DISCLAIMER**
> 
> Do not read this fic if you haven't listened to the entirety of The Adventure Zone: Balance and care about getting spoiled in any capacity. This fic deals with a good deal of the major spoilers for the plot; so, if you're not caught up, bookmark this for later. Otherwise, don't say I didn't warn ya!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus investigates a new case. Pringles helps out. Taako makes a deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first chapter's gonna be a little description-heavy b/c I've got a bit of exposition to cover. Future chapters will be more dialogue based. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

For starters, Angus McDonald was _not_ a snoop. He was a detective. There was a difference. A big difference. Huge. If he had just been a nosy little kid wandering out of his depth, then breaking into the Bureau of Balance’s prisoner containment chamber would have been completely unjustifiable. But since he was a _detective_ , him sneaking about in the name of investigating was completely justifiable. Heck, it was practically implicit in his job description, right?

Right.

Or at least, that’s what the young boy kept telling himself as he crept across the Bureau’s desolate campus. Nearly everyone was hunkered inside the Reclaimers’ dorm for a Candlenights party. Angus hadn’t been invited to the party per se, but he had stopped by long enough to hand out gifts. Long enough to create a believable alibi.

Angus’ first encounter with the Bureau of Balance had brought him into the path of three men on the Rockport Limited, where he had worked with them to solve a murder mystery. After that, Angus had launched an investigation into this organization and found a trail of missing persons that no one could remember. He must have been close to uncovering something huge, because as his investigation persisted, he had received an invitation to join the Bureau.

At first it had seemed just a ploy to get a little boy to keep his mouth shut, but soon after joining - because of course he had accepted the offer to join a secret society - Angus found himself falling into step with his coworkers at the Bureau as if he had always been there. Despite the dire circumstances that surrounded the founding of such an organization, everyone Angus had met so far had been charming and kind in their own unique ways. Not to mention that in joining, he had simultaneously solved the mystery of people’s gaps in memory.

The voidfish’s power was both wondrous and terrifying, and Angus was still wrestling with the potential calamities that could come from the ability to control the universe’s collective memory. Even when that power was being wielded by someone as levelheaded as the Bureau’s Director, Angus couldn’t help but feel apprehensive to accept the practice of tampering with the public’s knowledge. But for the most part, he could put his qualms aside. More often than not, he had no other option if he wanted to get anything else of substance done.

When he’d joined the Bureau, he had solved one mystery, yes; but as was so often the case, another mystery popped up right where the previous one had ended. The mystery at hand was shaping up to be more difficult to solve with each passing day, even for the world’s greatest detective.

Angus’ first encounter with the Bureau of Balance had brought him into the path of the organization’s three Reclaimers: Magnus, Merle, and Taako. When the Reclaimers had returned from their mission in Goldcliff, Angus had been excited to be reunited with the adventurers and to help them on their next mission. But when the door to The Director’s office had opened to reveal his presence to the three of them, Angus had been shocked to find only two Reclaimers standing before him. Magnus, the human fighter, and Merle, the dwarven cleric, had turned and greeted him affectionately in their own somewhat misguided way; but the elven wizard, Taako, was nowhere in sight and no one mentioned him.

Not wanting to derail the meeting, Angus had waited until he had a moment alone with The Director to inquire after what had happened to Taako. The Director had given a vague reply, stating that Taako had been indefinitely detained for breaching the Bureau’s protocol. Angus had tried but had been unable to unearth any further, more descriptive details as to what had happened to the third Reclaimer. It seemed every time he thought he’d constructed a clever enough question, The Director conjured an even more clever response that gave absolutely nothing away while still sounding like she had supplied a sufficient answer to the detective’s question.

After a while going back and forth, Angus had feigned satisfaction with The Director’s answers and let the subject drop; deciding that if he couldn’t find assistance on this case, he’d have to solve this mystery on his own. He’d spent the next couple days sleuthing around the Bureau’s campus, interviewing a couple of people, including the Reclaimers’ old roommate; but ultimately he’d come up with next to nothing.

Going to talk to Taako himself was out of the question, because the elevator down to the brig was guarded round the clock. He couldn’t get past the guards without in-person permission from The Director herself and, given her avoidant replies to his questions, Angus figured that option was nothing but a dead end pipe dream. The entire operation was seeming pretty futile, and Angus was almost contemplating putting it on the backburner to make room for more pressing matters right around the same time he uncovered his first genuine clue.

Earlier, as Angus had been wrapping his Candlenights presents to give out, he’d received a message in his Book of Interception. The arrival of the message had taken Angus by surprise, because he hadn’t been expecting a message, he wasn’t on a case right now. At least, not on any case that he should be receiving divined intel for yet. But nevertheless, there it was printed on the otherwise blank pages, clear as crystal:

_Bureau of Balance prison guards unconscious STOP_

_Passed out from...uh..._ _intoxicating substances STOP_

_Should be out for the next few hours STOP_

And that was all there was. Angus read and reread the message, trying at first to discern why on earth someone would send this information his way and then trying to figure out who the sender could possibly be. Angus couldn’t quite figure who had sent the message, but it had taken him all of two seconds to realize that the information was intended to help him further his investigation into the third Reclaimer’s imprisonment.

Slamming the Book of Interception shut, Angus had quickly gathered up his gifts under one arm and headed for Magnus and Merle’s Candlenights party. If he was going to break into the Bureau’s prison while managing to not getting tossed in there himself, he was going to have to make sure everyone saw him elsewhere that same night to avoid suspicion.

So, he went to the party he hadn’t been invited to and greeted everyone he could catch eyes with. He’d handed out the gifts he’d brought for Magnus and Merle which were two of his Caleb Cleveland novels, the third tucked away with his Book of Interception in his shoulder bag. He’d made it a point to seek out The Director and hand her his gift to her. The two didn’t have much time to catch up as practically the entire Bureau staff was crammed in the dorm, and The Director was a popular target for gift-giving. This turned out to be beneficial to Angus, and he easily slipped from sight and out of the dorm.

Making his way outside, Angus booked it across the campus as inconspicuously as he could manage. His heart thudded in his chest, expecting at any moment to be grabbed by the arm and caught in the act of breaking the rules. But nothing happened. He made it to the small dome that housed the elevator shaft down to the brig without ever seeing another Bureau member.

Taking a deep breath, Angus poked his nose inside, trying to stay as hidden as possible in case the message in his Book of Interception had been wrong and the guards inside were very much awake. Peering inside, Angus first saw the elevator doors at the far wall of the small circular room, and then he saw the guards.

Both guards were piled together in one small spot of the space, slumped against each other in what looked a peaceful if not hopelessly tangled slumbering embrace. Seeing that the guards were unconscious, just as the message had prescribed, Angus stepped full into the dome and crept up to the elevator doors. As he passed the sleeping guards, Angus noticed one of them clutching a mostly empty potion bottle in his hand. The sight of the bottle sparked a realization in Angus’ deductive mind, but he tucked that clue away for later and turned back to the case at hand.

Calling the elevator with a press of the button on the wall, Angus took another deep breath and stepped inside the small chamber. Similar to the voidfish’s dome, the elevator only went straight down. It was a bit of a long way down, and Angus couldn’t bring himself to do anything more than repeatedly tap the back of his right hand into his left palm and bite at his lower lip as the elevator ride dragged on for what felt like forever.

At last the elevator doors pinged open, and Angus stepped out into a long hall lined with cells. Or at least, Angus  presumed they were cells. It would make sense that they were cells seeing as how he was in the brig, but the rooms that lined the long hall were just a series of open doorways leading into the spaces beyond. There were no bars or glass or doors to speak of. Nothing that gave any indication of prisoners being contained in this dome. Narrowing his eyes, Angus scoped out the rest of the visible area.

He didn’t see anyone immediately, but he hadn’t come this far to just turn away from a seemingly empty space at first glance. The elevator doors shut behind him, and Angus steeled himself before puffing out his chest and forcing his legs to move in a confident stride.

Angus took one artificial tenacious step forward, and promptly tripped over his own unsteady feet, falling forward onto his face. Slamming into the hard metal tile below him, Angus felt the contents of shoulder bag spill out and scatter across the floor with a distinctly unstealthy ruckus.

Muttering curses under his breath, Angus pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and started retrieving his scattered items. He could feel that his glasses were crooked on his face, but he couldn’t be bothered to care; he just huffed an irritated breath and shoved his stuff haphazardly into his bag, crawling progressively further into the room.

“[Is this _your_ nerd book?](http://starsfadingbutilingeron.tumblr.com/post/178284325921/one-of-my-favorite-parts-from-the-first-chapter-of)” An amused, mocking voice called out from over his head.

Angus’ head snapped up at the sound of another person. He looked up and saw a tall figure leaning against an open doorway, dangling Angus’ remaining Caleb Cleveland novel between his fingers and swinging it lazily back and forth. Straightening his glasses on the bridge of his nose, Angus picked himself up off the cold metal floor and reassessed the figure before him.

With his vision clear once again, Angus could see that the figure before him was a tall elven man with tan skin and long blonde hair tied back in a messy ponytail. His clothes were plain and practical and completely mismatched against the gap-toothed smirk he was turning down at Angus. It was a smile that Angus had seen a limited number of times a long while back, but a smile he recognized nonetheless.

“Taako, sir!” Angus exclaimed as he realized he was standing face-to-face with the missing Reclaimer. Angus moved to rush closer to Taako, but was stopped as he banged into some invisible blockade and was knocked back against the opposite wall.

Taako let out a sharp laugh, like watching a ten-year-old get knocked back was the funniest thing he’d seen in a long time.

“Nice try, kiddo, that was adorable,” Taako said, reaching out with his free hand and banging on the invisible wall that had knocked Angus backwards. Each time Taako knocked against the barrier, a bright shimmer of light sparked where he hit and blocked his hand from moving past the confines of the wide door frame he was leaned up against. “Didn’t you catch the memo that this was a prison? Kinda shitty jail that just lets the inmates wander around wherever they want.”

Angus squinted his eyes a bit, tapping his chin as he leaned forward and inspected the barrier. “If this barrier is impassable, how come my book is in your hand?” he asked, pointing to the Caleb Cleveland novel still dangling from Taako’s fingertips.

“Well, it doesn’t keep _everything_ out, smartypants,” Taako said, giving the book a light toss and throwing it in Angus’ direction. “Non-magic items that aren’t, like, useful in terms of a prison break can pass back and forth through this shield no problem. If the damn thing kept everything out it would certainly make doing things like feeding prisoners a hell of a lot more difficult. Although, I mostly do my own cooking around here.”

With that, Taako jabbed a thumb behind his shoulder and Angus took in the rest of the room the wizard was standing in for the first time. For something that was supposed to be a prison cell, the space Taako was gesturing to was fairly luxurious. There was a bigger bed than Angus had in his own dorm pushed up against one wall, across from a small kitchenette decked out with top of the line appliances and no doubt a well-stocked fridge. On the back wall Angus could spy two doors, one wide open to reveal a private bathroom beyond and the other cracked open just enough for Angus to make out a few brightly colored flashes of fabric that the wizard was obviously making a big deal of not wearing. Closer to the mouth of the cell, there was a table and a couple chairs with a small pile of miscellaneous junk on there.

Angus gave the cell another once over before turning his attention back to Taako, who had turned his attention to his nails.

“Sir, do you remember who I am?”

“Uhh…” Taako’s eyes moved lazily to look Angus over, an amused half-smile quirked up on Taako’s face as he leaned his head into the arm that was braced against the wall. “You’re that little dude from the Rockport train, aren’t ‘cha?”

“Angus McDonald, sir,” he nodded, smiling up at Taako.

“Well, how about that,” Taako shoved off the wall and crossed his arms, grinning down at Angus in disbelief. “Gun to my head, I coulda sworn you died, Angus.”

“No, sir, you and your friends destroyed the train and we all jumped off,” Angus said, bending down to pick up his book where it had landed at his feet.

“Oh yeah,” Taako nodded, moving to lean up against the wall again. “Good times, huh? That was some cold shit.”

“Yes, it was,” Angus agreed, glancing nervously to the elevator doors and then back at Taako. “Sir, I’m going to be honest, I don’t have a lot of time. I don’t exactly have The Director’s permission to be down here.”

Taako’s eyes widened slightly and the mocking look fell from his expression. “For real?” he asked, a slight laugh in his voice as a smile tugged back onto his face. “You, Sir Ango, are down here without our dear Madam Director’s permission? Oh, that’s _hysterical_! But also, care to tell me when the hell you even joined the good ol’ B.O.B.?”

“I just joined actually, I...Well, that’s sort of the reason why I’m here,” Angus said. “I was supposed to meet the Reclaimers today because I’m going to be providing live intel from now on, but when I went to The Director’s office, it was just Magnus and Merle. The Director told me you had been locked up for breaking Bureau protocol, but wouldn’t answer any further questions about why. So, I-”

“So, you decided to come hear it straight from these gorgeous lips instead?” Taako interrupted, leaning forward as much as the invisible barrier allowed him to.

“In a nutshell, yes,” Angus nodded.

Taako seemed to consider this for a moment, straightening his back out and peering towards the elevator doors.

“How did you even get down here?” Taako asked, scoffing a laugh through his teeth. “What, did you clobber the guards with your nerdy book there?”

“No, sir, I didn’t clobber anyone,” Angus shook his head. “The guards were passed out when I got here.”

“Hmm,” Taako tapped his chin. “And no one saw you come in? You’re just that slick?”

“Didn’t have to be slick, sir, everyone in the Bureau is at the Reclaimers’ Candlenights party,” Angus said.

“Huh!” Taako shrugged, turning and taking a seat at the table in his cell. Resting his chin on his folded hands, Taako gave Angus another smirk. “Aren’t you just a lucky duck?”

“I suppose that I am,” Angus nodded. “Now, are you going to tell me why you’re in here?”

Taako sat back, pursing his lips before shrugging his shoulders and looking away from Angus with an uninterested expression. “Nah.”

“Why not?”

“You’re a detective, right?” Taako asked, reaching forward and digging in the pile of junk on the table.

“World’s Greatest, sir.”

“Yeah, well, where’s the fun in detective-ing if you just get the answer outright?” Taako lifted an eyebrow.

“Detective work isn’t supposed to be fun, sir, it’s supposed to produce answers,” Angus said, growing frustrated to be met with more evasive answers.

“Fair point, fair point,” Taako nodded, grabbing onto something from within the pile and quickly shoving it behind his back before standing up and walking towards Angus. “But listen, I can’t exactly just tell you the whole explanation. And I’m pretty sure any watered down bullshit I told you now wouldn’t satisfy you anyways. So, how’s about a compromise?”

Angus looked Taako up and down. “What sort of compromise?”

Taako smiled as if he’d already won the game he’d set up. “You come back here some time when you’re not too busy running around for Madam Director, and I’ll tell you a story.”

“A story?” Angus echoed.

“Yeah, a story,” Taako nodded. “Okay, and a good one, too. Better than that, uh, Caleb Cleveland thing you’ve got in your hands. This one’s a fucking epic, my man.”

Angus cocked his head to one side and wrinkled his brow. “Sir, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but how is you telling me a story going to give me the answers I want?”

“I thought you were a kid genius or something.”

“I am.”

“Then you’ll figure it out,” Taako smiled. “In the meantime though, you said it was Candlenights?”

“That’s right,” Angus nodded.

“Then, I’ve got something for you,” Taako said. “Dear Lucretia let me keep all of my non-magic swag when she threw me in here, wasn’t that thoughtful?”

“Lucretia, sir?”

“You would call her _Madam Director_ ,” Taako said, voice dripping with a sudden venom.

“Oh! I didn’t realize that was...The Director’s first name is Lucretia!?”

“Yep, that’s her,” Taako nodded. “You want your Candlenights gift or what, Ango?”

“I- I guess it depends on what it is!” Angus said.

Taako chuckled. “Good answer,” he said, bringing his arm out from behind him back and producing three shining silver spoons. “Got the chance to buy these right before getting tossed in the clink.”

“Wow, this is-” Angus reached out and took the spoons as Taako held them through the barrier up to where the tips of his fingers pressed against the spell. “These are from my grandpa’s missing silverware set, where did you find them?”

“Don’t think too much about it,” Taako waved his hands, standing up to his full height. “You’ve got ‘em and that’s the important thing.”

“Thank you, sir,” Angus said. “But now I feel bad because I didn’t get anything for you.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you’ll pay me back somehow,” Taako winked, tossing his hair back over his shoulder.

“Wait, I know!” Angus exclaimed, holding out the Caleb Cleveland novel in his hands and shoving it towards Taako. “I gave Magnus and Merle the other two, so, it’s only fitting that you get one too. Happy Candlenights, sir!”

“Wow, uh,” Taako took the book in his hands, letting it pass seamlessly through the barrier, and biting down hard on an insult. “That’s great, kid, really. I’m gonna put that right at the top of my reading list.”

Angus went to say something else, but before he got the chance a sudden lurch shifted the very ground he was standing on. Bracing a hand against the wall, Angus became aware of the feeling that the space around him was being moved quite suddenly.

“What the fuck?” Taako murmured, bracing one hand against the wall and the other against the barrier that kept him locked in.

“Sir, I’m sorry to cut this short…” Angus said, gathering himself up and turning towards the end of the hall. “...but I really should get up there and see what’s going on.”

“Shit, yeah, go for it. No one’s keepin’ ya trapped down here,” Taako said with just the tiniest hint of bitterness in his voice. “I’ll, uh, see you again though, right? For that story?”

“If I can manage to get down here again, sir, you will certainly see me again,” Angus nodded. “I’d offer to shake hands on it, but the barrier might make that difficult.”

“Don’t sweat it, I’ll take your word on this one,” Taako waved a dismissive hand. “Now, go see if this entire Bureau’s been blown to shit or whatever.”

“I will,” Angus beamed, beginning to walk away. “Bye for now, sir!”

Once he was alone again, Taako turned away from the mouth of his cell with a smirk. Walking to the edge of his bed, he flopped backwards into the rumpled sheets and held the book Angus had given him aloft. Examining the melodramatic composition of the young adult novel’s cover, Taako’s grin widened and he shook his head as a bubble of laughter began to climb in his throat.

“Like taking candy from a baby,” he remarked, setting the book down on his nightstand and rolling over to go to sleep as the moonbase shifted around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any questions/comments either put 'em below or send them to me on tumblr @starsfadingbutilingeron. 
> 
> Catch ya next chapter!


	2. Lunar Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus asks permission. Taako flirts with death. Kravitz comes out of the closet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so, I think I'm gonna try and update on Fridays. Mind you, I've got finals coming up so that might not be true of the next couple weeks. But other than that, it's looking like Friday's my day for updates.
> 
> **UPDATE** This chapter has been revised/updated as of 01/27/2018. If you read before this date, please, reread this chapter.

_The Director is in a good mood._ Angus told himself. _The Director is in a good mood. She just destroyed another Grand Relic, she’s in an awesome mood. Just go in and talk to her like it’s any other conversation you two have had._

Angus stood just outside the closed doors of the Director’s office, balling his hands into fists at his sides as he tried to steel his nerves before knocking. During the entire debacle with the Millers’ Lab and retrieving The Philosopher’s Stone, Angus’s illicit conversation with Taako had been pushed to the back of his mind. But now that the entire ordeal was over and dealt with, Angus finally had a moment to himself to breathe and think through how he wanted to approach this matter.

What he’d decided, ultimately, was that there was no way he would be able to get away with sneaking into the prison dome again; that first time had been a matter of luck and circumstance, and Angus was smart enough to know the chances of something like that happening again were extremely low. With that in mind, Angus had come to the decision that he would just ask the Director for her permission to go and visit Taako. The chances of her saying ‘yes’ to that were still pretty slim, but it was either that or nothing. So, Angus had no choice but to hope the Director’s good mood won out over her cautionary intuition just this once. Holding onto that hope, Angus took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Lucretia’s office.

“Come in,” Lucretia’s voice called from within.

Grasping the door handle, Angus turned it and pushed inside. He’d only been in the Director’s private office a handful of times before. It wasn’t a space she often made available for just anyone in the Bureau to traipse through on a whim; so, the gravity of just being in that office was weighty enough to remind Angus he wasn’t actually on a real moon. Still, the Director looked up when he came in and received the young detective with her characteristic smile that was warm but more than a little guarded.

“Angus, this is a surprise,” she remarked, straightening out a stack of papers in her hands and tucking them away into the top desk of her drawer. “Merle has invited me on a sudden trip to the spa, so, I’m afraid you’ve caught me in the middle of the messy process of last-minute packing.”

“Merle invited you on a spa trip? That’s so nice,” Angus gave the pristine office a onceover as he spoke, his eye catching on a familiar object propped up against the large door to the side of the portrait that hung on the wall of Lucretia’s office. It was the Umbra Staff that Taako had carried with him when the two had met on the Rockport Limited.

Angus must have let his gaze linger on it a second too long, because soon the Director was following his line of sight and looking at the Umbra Staff as well. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Angus tried to ignore the burning feeling of blush crawling up his face.

“Uh, that’s Mister Taako’s umbrella, isn’t it? Or rather _was_ his since he...Uh, since he…” Angus faltered, twisting his fingers anxiously around each other.

Lucretia looked at the umbrella for a second longer before turning her gaze back to Angus. “Yes, it-”

The Director was cut off by a sudden clattering noise, and both her and Angus snapped their heads to the side to look at where the Umbra Staff had been propped a second ago. It lay on the floor now, supposedly having fallen over.

Angus watched the handle loll lazily on the floor for a bit before it rolled to a stop near his feet. Bending down, Angus picked the umbrella up and walked forward to hand it to the Director, who snatched it into her grasp almost too quickly.

“Like I was saying,” she shifted in her seat, settling both hands on top of the Umbra Staff as it lay across her lap now. “This staff still belongs to Taako, and I will be more than happy to return it to him once I have decided he can be released from the Bureau’s custody. I was just having a look at it, but I’ll be sure to put it away for safe-keeping once I’m done. Now, what can I help you with, Angus? Why have you come to see me?”

“Well, Madam Director, it’s funny the subject has veered in this particular direction on its own because I...Because I, uh…” Angus clasped his hands behind his back and squeezed them together tightly to keep from fidgeting with them anymore. “I wanted to talk to you about Taako, if that’s alright, ma’am.”

“Oh?” Lucretia raised an eyebrow. “What about him?”

“I was wondering if it might be okay if I…” Angus bit his lip, taking another deep breath before continuing. “If it’d be okay if I went to visit him sometimes.”

Lucretia sat back, drawing in a slow breath through her nostrils but not speaking. When she did finally open her mouth, Angus could tell the calm tone of her voice was forced.

“Why do you want to do that?” she asked, not making eye contact with Angus as she reached out and straightened a pen lying diagonally across her desk.

“I was hoping he might be able to help me,” Angus said, leaning forward with his hands gripping the edge of the Director’s desk. “You see, I’m supposed to be giving Magnus and Merle live intel and assistance on their adventures now; and while I’m great at the intel part, I’m not exactly trained for adventure. I thought since Taako was a Reclaimer, he could help me out a little on that front. I don’t want another fiasco like what happened with Hodge Podge to happen because of me.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Angus,” Lucretia clarified. “Everything that happened in that lab was Lucas Miller’s fault for meddling with a Grand Relic instead of turning it over to the Bureau. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Angus nodded. “But still, I’d like to have the help of someone who knows a thing or two about what these Grand Relics can do.”

Lucretia smiled a little bit. “I’d be more than happy to assist you on that front, Angus, if that’s what you’re getting at. These relics have been a particular area of interest to me for the past few years, you know.”

“Right. Of course,” Angus nodded, tapping the toe of his shoe nervously against the floor. He felt like he was definitely losing this argument, but he wasn’t ready to cave just yet. Not when he still had one more ace up his sleeve. “But it’s something more than just advice, ma’am. It’s something a bit more personal…” he picked up, averting his gaze down and to the side.

Lucretia leaned forward at that, brow furrowing in concern. “What is it, Angus?”

Angus looked back up and met the Director’s eyes, swallowing against the lump in his throat and trying his best to look sad and desperate. “I’m worried about Taako being left alone in lock-up, ma’am. He talks a big game, but he’s still a person just the same as you and me. I just was worried about him getting lonely from not being able to see any of his friends. That’s the real reason why I wanted to go see him. But if you don’t think I should, I guess I won’t.”

“I see,” Lucretia murmured, pressing a few fingers to her lips as she stared pensively into the distance. Closing her eyes, she drew a deep breath and stood from her chair. Setting the Umbra Staff across her desk, Lucretia retrieved her own white oak staff from where it rested against the wall and moved to where Angus stood.

Angus turned to face the Director, craning his neck back to look up at her face. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling at the young boy as she gently steered him towards the door to her office.

“I understand your concerns, Angus, I do. You’re a very caring boy, and Taako’s lucky to have a friend like you,” she said, talking as she walked Angus to the exit. “I won’t make any decisions right now, but I promise that I will think about your request. Thank you for coming to me with this.”

“Alright, ma’am, thank you for listening,” Angus smiled up at Lucretia, stepping through the doorway of her office and giving her a wave. “I hope you and Merle have fun on your spa trip.”

Lucretia waved to Angus, watching him go and shutting the door to her office once he was out of eyeshot. Crossing back to her desk, Lucretia picked up the Umbra Staff and gripped it tightly in both of her hands.

She lifted her gaze to the portrait that hung over her desk and saw the faces of her closest friends - her _family_ \- as she’d painted them so many years before. Looking the entire painting over once, her gaze then fell on Taako and she couldn’t help but smile. There he was, front and center like he always preferred to be, surrounded by the people who loved him most in the many multiple universes. Most important of all, there he was with Lup; the two of them together, like they were supposed to be.

Taking in both of the twins’ painted smiles, Lucretia’s grip on the Umbra Staff tightened a little bit. Heaving a sigh that deflated her usual stringent posture, Lucretia set the umbrella down on her desk again. She had wanted to finish straightening up her office before leaving with Merle on their spa trip, but now it seemed there was a visit she simply had to pay right at that instant. She hesitated only for a moment, opening one of her desk drawers and removing a small package she tucked into her robe. Then, drawing her shoulders back, Lucretia held her head up high and strode briskly from her office.

* * *

 Taako tapped his fingers impatiently against his cell’s barrier. It had been days since that little kid had broken in to see him. Or maybe it had just been hours? Minutes? Fuck it if he knew, but there was one thing that Taako was damn sure about: He had been waiting too long.  
  
“That’s what ya get for putting faith in a baby, dipshit,” he muttered to himself, leaning one shoulder against the transparent barricade.   
  
Taako sighed and looked out at the empty hallway. With nothing else to do except be locked in a vacancy, Taako began to think of all the possible ways Angus could have fucked up this operation. Maybe he’d tattled on Taako for even suggesting he break the rules and gotten a gold star from The Director. Maybe the kid had gotten caught and just been straight up launched off the moonbase. Maybe Lucretia had erased his memories. Who knew?   
  
Or maybe Angus had just decided he didn’t want to waste his time breaking protocol to come hear some rude, sarcastic wizard’s bullshit-   
  
“Nah,” Taako cut off his own train of thought with a shrug and a wave of his hand. “That kid should be so lucky to come attend storytime with the one and only Taako the Wizard, I-”   
  
“Do you make a habit of talking to yourself?”   
  
Taako yelped, jumping about a foot in the air before whirling around to face the owner of the frankly ridiculous cockney accent that had just assailed his ears. Armed with nothing to defend himself except his good looks and sparkling wit, Taako turned with his back braced up against the barrier and took in the sight of his unexpected visitor.   
  
Blinking a few times in surprise, Taako resisted the urge to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming up the tall, strikingly handsome man scowling down at the elf in the middle of his own prison cell. Because either the cabin fever was getting to Taako’s head...or there really was a super hot guy who had just magically appeared in front of him.   
  
Taako felt the tension in his shoulders relax by just a fraction, a sly smile slowly returning to his face. Pushing off the barrier, Taako took a slinking step forward and tilted his head at the dashing stranger.   
  
“Well, this is new,” he remarked, folding his hands under his chin and fluttering his eyelashes as he lifted his gaze to meet his unexpected guest’s. “What’s your name, thug?”   
  
“My name’s Kravitz,” the man continued in his appallingly fake accent, trying to counter Taako’s grin with what was supposed to be an intimidating frown. “Are you Taako Taaco, by chance?”   
  
“Uh, yep, that’s me,” Taako nodded, pressing a hand to his chest and reaching up with the other to dust at the shoulder of Kravitz’s long black cape. “What can I do for ya, Krav?”   
  
“I...you…” Kravitz furrowed his brow, shaking his head and drawing back a little. “Aren’t you at least a little intimidated right now?”   
  
Taako gave a scoffing simper of a laugh, bobbing his shoulders as his hands settled on his hips. “Not particularly,” he smiled, brushing a loose strand of hair behind one pointed ear and pressing a finger to his lips. “Am a little curious as to how you got in here though, my fella. You may have trouble believing this given my angelic countenance but, uh, this is a prison cell we’re standing in. M’kay and like a really strong one, too. Like, strong enough to keep atomic blasts both locked in and locked out. So, you wanna tell me how you broke in? Because I totally am gonna steal it for myself if you do, just know that.”   
  
The man named Kravitz held one hand out to the side, and as he did a long gleaming scythe materialized in the readied curve of his waiting fingers. Brandishing the scythe in front of him like the sacred weapon it was, Kravitz looked down at Taako with a hooded gaze.   
  
“Prison walls cannot keep me out,” Kravitz said, still speaking in that ridiculous accent. “Wherever there is life, death must inevitably follow.”   
  
Taako blinked, genuinely surprised for a moment; but he quickly recovered, quirking his face back up into its usual condescending smirk. “So, you’re the Grim Reaper, then?”   
  
“That’s what some people call me, yes.”   
  
Taako blew a low whistle in Kravitz’s direction. “S’about fucking time you showed your face,” he said, turning and taking a seat at the table in the corner. His gaze was still fixed on Kravitz, hand carefully positioned to hide the spreading grin on his lips as he watched the reaper’s befuddled expression grow more and more perplexed.   
  
“Okay so...You don’t seem half as surprised to see me as your buddies in the lab did,” Kravitz said, letting his scythe disappear so he could cross his arms over his chest and fix Taako with a scrutinizing glare.   
  
“My buddies in the lab?” Taako’s ears perked up, turning so he was facing Kravitz more fully. “Tell me, were these “buddies” two adventurers? One a big, beefy human who looks like he’d eat a rock on a dare? The other a dwarf with a creepy plant fetish?”   
  
“Yes,” Kravitz nodded. “Magnus Burnsides and Merle Highchurch. You do know them then, I take it?”   
  
Taako tapped his fingers against his chin as if he were contemplating the very essence of those two names, before ultimately shrugging with a noncommittal wave of his hand. “Never heard of ‘em.”   
  
Kravitz gave a short, breathy laugh. “I’m sure,” he said, moving so he was standing in front of Taako’s seated form. “You said before that it was about time I showed up. Your friends were very shocked that I had come for them, but you...You seem like you’ve been expecting me.”   
  
“Whoa there, buddo, I wouldn’t go that far,” Taako held up his hands to halt Kravitz from speaking anymore, then gesturing to his drab apparel with another swift motion of his wrists. “You really think I’d be caught dead wearing this if I had been expecting the company of a fine fine gentleman such as yourself? Come on, now.”   
  
“Good pun,” Kravitz remarked, finding it harder and harder to suppress his smile as the elf continued to speak.   
  
“I do try, Krav. I do,” Taako smiled, folding his hands over his crossed knees. “Listen, all I’m saying here is that I know I’ve bitten the bullet a few times before without checking out, so to speak.”   
  
“Your friends didn’t seem to possess that same knowledge.”   
  
“Yeah, they’re a couple of dunces, the pair of them. I honestly don’t know how those chucklefucks have survived this long without me. I was the brains of that party, really,” Taako said.   
  
“So, you admit you know them, then?” Kravitz asked.   
  
“Irrelevant,” Taako waved a dismissive hand.   
  
“Okay, then, how’s about you tell me how it is you and these total strangers have evaded visiting the Astral Plane so many times?” Kravitz asked, bracing one hand against the table’s edge and leaning down so he could be at eye-level with Taako. “Are you a lich?”   
  
Taako’s smirk fell from playful to cold for an instant, but he quickly picked his performance back up where it had dropped. “I’m not a lich, but I play one on T.V.,” he winked, shrugging one shoulder up as he shot a finger-gun at Kravitz.   
  
“Forget it, I know you’re not a lich,” Kravitz threw a hand up in slight exasperation. “So, how are you still here after dying eight times?”   
  
“Oh good, I’m glad someone’s been keeping count,” Taako said, taking a sudden interest in his nails as he avoided Kravitz’s eyes.   
  
“Look, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine,” Kravitz said, standing up and calling his scythe once more. This time, as his grip tightened around the hilt of the weapon, the flesh of his hands melted away to reveal the skeletal grip of death waiting underneath. “I’ll just reap your soul right here and now instead. Is that what you want?”   
  
“Hah!” Taako snorted, looking up at Kravitz and shaking his head. “Don’t do me any favors, Reaper Man.”   
  
Kravitz drew his shoulders up, taken aback by Taako’s response. “Is there a particular reason you won’t tell me how it is you and your friends are still alive? If you’re worried about getting in trouble, I think it’s safe to say that ship has sailed,” he said with a pointed glance at the prison cell the two were having this conversation in.

“Right, well, that’s the thing, isn’t it?” Taako laughed, looking to the side and shrugging. “I’m not so much worried about getting in trouble with you or your, uh, your boss...or are you the boss? Sorry, not sure if you work alone or not is all.”

“I- I am an emissary of the Raven Queen,” Kravitz said helpfully.

“Got it,” Taako smiled. “Anyways, you and the Raven Queen don’t really concern me. I’ve known my eternal soul is royally fucked for a good long while now, none of this-” he said with an up-and-down gesture at Kravitz and the scythe still propped in his hand. “-is a surprise for me. No, what I’m more worried about is that if I tell you what’s going on I’m gonna have this joint’s security crammed so far up my ass they’ll be able to chew my food for me. And, uh, ingesting my culinary exploits is one of the few joys I am still afforded as an elf behind bars so I don’t really want to screw that up, ya feel me?”

Kravitz stifled a laugh, attempting to maintain his composure. “Is that so?” he asked, cracking a smile as soon as he spoke. “Security that tight around here?”

“Not really but, uh, in exceptional cases...” Taako trailed off with a shrug. “Plus, quite frankly, I just don’t think you’d be able to comprehend it. Like, literally would not be able to understand ninety percent of what I’d tell you. Or maybe you could, I don’t...Are you like actually dead or are you immortal or…?”

“It’s a lot of explanation, but no. I am not alive,” Kravitz sighed. “So, what I’m taking from all this is that you’re not going to tell me how it is you and your friends are cheating death?”

“My mystique _is_ a big part of my charm,” Taako said.

Kravitz gave a breathy laugh, moving around to the other side of the table and sitting down with a dramatic flip of his cape. Propping his elbows on the table, Kravitz set his chin atop his folded hands and smiled at Taako.

“What do you suggest we do about this all, then?” Kravitz asked, raising one eyebrow and smiling across at the wizard’s equally coy expression. “I mean, you don’t expect me to just let you go, do you?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Taako mumbled, smile never faltering. “Isn’t that what you did with the boner squad down in this lab you mentioned? I haven’t heard tell of any sudden tragic deaths befalling those two shitheads - and believe you me, I’d be amongst the first to fall privy to that particular information - so I’m guessing you didn’t end up reaping them after all.”

“Yeah, well I-” Kravitz broke off with a flustered sigh, looking to the ceiling and rolling his eyes before meeting Taako’s gaze again. “Listen, I’m-” 

Taako cut Kravitz off with a stern wave of his hand. He had been batting his eyelashes flirtatiously up at the Grim Reaper, but Taako’s expression snapped suddenly to cautious attention as his ear twitched towards the end of the hall. “Did you hear that?”   
  
“Hear what?” Kravitz raised an eyebrow, looking around the room for any unseen enemies approaching.   
  
“The elevator starting up. Oh shit…” Taako shot from his seat like a magic missile, stretching across the distance of the table and yanking Kravitz to his feet. “You gotta hide fuckin’ tout de suite, broski. Can’t get caught just having a casual chill sesh with Death himself when I’m supposed to be a prisoner.”   
  
“Hey now, I-” Kravitz tried to protest against being shoved across the floor of the cell, attempting to reach behind him and get a hold of Taako. “You can’t just push me around, I’m the Grim Reaper dammit-”   
  
“Shut it and get in the closet,” Taako said, swinging the door of his closet open and shoving Kravitz inside as the elevator doors pinged open.   
  
“You do realize I could just shift planes on out of here, right?” Kravitz whispered from where he now stood amongst the explosion of color that made up Taako’s wardrobe. “Like, that’s a thing I could do.”   
  
“Let’s call that ‘Plan B.’ But I like that you’re using your domepiece, it’s an attractive quality,” Taako smiled, reaching out and patting Kravitz on the head before whirling around and shutting the closet door just as Lucretia stepped into view in front of him.   
  
“Taako, I’m-” she startled a little bit as her friend turned to face her. “I’m sorry, were you changing?”   
  
“Who me?” Taako asked, pressing a hand to his chest and moving away from the closet towards Lucretia. “Nah. Nope, I wasn’t changing or anything. Although, if I was, it’s not like you haven’t seen this god body au naturale before, is it?”   
  
“I guess that’s true,” Lucretia assented, a little bit of a smile finding its way onto her face. “You’re in a good mood today.”   
  
“Yes, I certainly _was_ in as good a mood a prisoner can be in, up until right about now,” Taako’s neutral smirk took over his face, blocking any other emotions from expressing themselves. He strode up to the front of the cell and leaned one elbow up against the wall, looking Lucretia up and down. “To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Madam Director?”   
  
“Taako, I visit you nearly every day,” Lucretia said.   
  
“Don’t remind me,” Taako held up a hand, splayed his fingers and then snapped them shut against his palm. “So, what shall we talk about today, hm? Or rather, what should you talk at me about today?”   
  
“As a matter of fact, I do have something important to discuss with you,” Lucretia gripped her staff nervously.   
  
“Oh, you do?” Taako raised an eyebrow, pushing off the wall and dropping himself into one of the chairs at his table of junk. “Shoot, then.”   
  
“Right, yes, of course,” Lucretia nodded, walking so she could be closer to Taako as she spoke. “Now, do you remember a young boy named Angus McDonald?”   
  
“Eugh, this isn’t another one of those memory tests, is it?” Taako rolled his eyes, leaning his head back so it bumped against the wall. “I thought we were past this. My brain is just fine and dandy, no thanks to you.”   
  
“No, Taako, it’s not a test,” Lucretia said. “Angus McDonald is a child you met on the Rockport Limited a short time ago.”   
  
“Rockport Limited?” Taako tilted his head to the side for a moment before snapping his fingers and nodding his head. “Oh yeah, back when I wasn’t locked up. Nah, that name’s not, uh, not ringing any bells. You sure I met him?”   
  
“Yes, I’m positive,” Lucretia said. “Well, anyways, he remembers you- ”   
  
“Wait, I think I got it now!” Taako perked up, interrupting Lucretia and getting no small amount of vindictive pleasure at watching her shocked expression at having been cut off by someone. “Angus he was that little, uh, private eye kid with the nerdy books and swanky silverware set, wasn’t he?”   
  
“Yes,” Lucretia tried to smile, but it didn’t last very long against the deep frown lines etched into her weathered face. “Anyways, he came to my office very...concerned for your well-being, shall we say?”   
  
“Did he now?” Taako examined his nails, his default mode of looking nonchalant. “Going into your office, huh? That’s a bold move.”   
  
Lucretia ignored Taako’s last statement and continued as if it hadn’t been said. “He wanted my permission to come and visit you on occasion.”   
  
“Uh-huh,” Taako picked at his teeth for a second before looking back up at Lucretia. “And what did you say?”   
  
“I said I’d think about it, of course,” Lucretia replied. “My answer depends on you.”   
  
Taako gave a harsh, critical laugh. “On me!?” he laughed again. “In what capacity?”   
  
Lucretia faltered for a moment, not entirely sure how to start her next sentence or even really what she wanted to say. “Well, you- I wasn’t sure if such a visitation would be agreeable to you. You haven’t always been the most, uh, adept at interacting with children. I didn’t know if you’d care for the company of a ten-year-old.”   
  
“I mean, a second grader’s not exactly my cup of tea when it comes to visitors,” Taako said with a surreptitious glance towards his closet door. “I suppose it would be too much to ask for if I requested Magnus or Merle be the ones to come visit me instead,” Taako looked down to the tabletop, dragging his fingertips against the lacquer finish in lazy circles.   
  
Lucretia sighed. “You already know my answer to that.”   
  
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Taako pushed off the table, standing so he could pace aimlessly about his cell with his back turned to Lucretia. “You won’t even bring Davenport down here with you, I shouldn’t have asked. Can’t blame a guy for trying, eh?”   
  
“You know my reasons,” Lucretia looked sadly at her friend’s turned back, feeling her grip on her staff grow sweaty the longer she held it. “Taako, I’m s-”   
  
“Please, don’t say you’re sorry,” Taako groaned, throwing his head back to roll his eyes at the ceiling. “I’m really, really not in the mood to have _that_ conversation again with you today. Look, just…” Taako turned around, keeping his gaze pointed away from Lucretia as he walked back to the front of his cell. “If the kid wants to come see me, I’m fucking fine with it. Let him earn his ‘Visit An Imprisoned Wizard’ badge or whatever, I’m down for anything at this point.”   
  
“Good. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear it,” Lucretia nodded, glancing to the side.   
  
Taako scoffed and shook his head. “Alright, what else is there, Lucy? I know that face. Come on, out with it,” Taako held his palm up and waved his fingers inward to get Lucretia talking again.   
  
“It’s just…” Lucretia hesitated, taking a moment to bite at her thumbnail. “Don’t get mad, okay?”   
  
“I am an ocean of calm,” Taako insisted, spreading his hands out in a placating motion.   
  
The corner of Lucretia’s mouth quirked up a little, only to fall in the same instant. “If I allow Angus to come visit you, under supervision, do I have your word that you will not reveal the precise details as to how you came to be in the Bureau’s custody?”   
  
“‘Bureau’s custody’ that’s fuckin’ rich…” Taako muttered under his breath.   
  
“What was that?”   
  
“Nothing, uh,” Taako straightened up, clearing his throat. “I just...Hm...I don’t know about this, ‘Cretia, lying to a little kid seems like it might be-”   
  
“Taako,” Lucretia cut him off, her voice dropping to a stern octave.   
  
“Fuck it, fine!” Taako threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Just jerking your chain a little there, Lucy, no need to get pissed. I won’t tell the kid how I got locked up, is that what you want to hear? These lips...” Taako gestured to his mouth. “...are sealed.”   
  
“Okay,” Lucretia nodded.   
  
“Okay,” Taako echoed, turning and dropping into one of the two chairs at the only table in his cell and leaning his head against his hand. “Now, was there anything else you wanted? Or can I get back to my fucking solitary confinement now?”   
  
“There was one more thing,” Lucretia said, her shoulders jolting a little as she sprang to pull something from within her robe.   
  
Taako saw Lucretia pulling at the folds of her clothing and immediately perked up to attention. “Whoa there, girl! I know I look mopey, but a strip tease from you is certainly not what I need right now to cheer me u-”   
  
“For you,” Lucretia cut his nonsense off mid-word, holding out a sealed envelope through the prison’s barrier. “It’s a belated Candlenights gift, I’m afraid I got distracted and forgot to deliver it that night.”   
  
“I thought I told you I didn’t want any damn gifts from you,” Taako’s voice went suddenly cold as he stood and raised a hand to smack the envelope out of her hand.   
  
“It’s not from me,” Lucretia said before Taako’s hand could move to strike out.   
  
“What?” Taako asked, letting his hand drop to his side. “Then, who’s it from?”   
  
Lucretia took a deep breath, her grip on the present shaking slightly by now. “It’s from Barry. Somehow, he managed to-”   
  
But the gift was already gone from Lucretia’s hand before she could finish another sentence. Taako broke the seal on the envelope open, taking out the store bought Candlenights card that was contained therein. Taako gave a little snort of a laugh at the stupid card as he opened it, but any trace of a smile he had left his face as a small scrap of paper drifted out of the card and into his waiting hand.   
  
Lucretia took one look at the scrap of paper and immediately knew what it was, and felt her heart pang as she saw tears beginning to well in Taako’s eyes. “Taako, may I-” she began, but stopped herself when Taako held up one hand with his palm out.   
  
“Just don’t,” he said, pressing the paper to his chest so Lucretia couldn’t see it. Taking a deep breath, Taako looked upwards and blinked back the tears in his eyes. Not only would he not cry in front of Lucretia, he just fucking couldn’t.   
  
“I’ll leave you alone now.” Lucretia took a step back, turning towards the elevator and beginning to walk away.   
  
“Hey, Lucy,” Taako called to Lucretia’s back.   
  
“Yes?” Lucretia looked over her shoulder at her friend as he leaned up against the invisible wall that kept him prisoner.   
  
“If you happen to see Barold, tell him thanks for me,” Taako said, looking away as soon as the words had left his mouth. “I mean, I’m just betting you’ll see him again before I do.”   
  
Lucretia nodded, giving Taako a smile that he couldn’t see. “If our paths cross before yours, I’ll be sure to pass the message along.”   
  
“Cool. Coolness,” Taako said, shoving off the barrier and walking back into his cell. “And tell that little detective nerd that he can come visit me whenever he damn well feels like it. With your permission of course, Madam Director.”   
  
Lucretia sighed, but still found herself smiling as she continued to walk towards the elevator. “I’ll be back soon, Taako,” she called without thinking. As soon as the words left her mouth, Lucretia bit down on this inside of her cheek and silently chastised herself as she strode even quicker towards the elevator.   
  
“I’ve heard that before,” Taako called after her, trying to goof off his prior uncharacteristic display of genuine emotion, but not really having the heart to put into it when it came to _that_ subject. Pausing and listening for the sound of the elevator leaving before making another move, Taako strode back to his closet door and knocked on it a few times once he was sure Lucretia had left. “She’s gone, bring that handsome face out here where I can see it.”   
  
The knob of the closet door turned and out came Kravitz, with an expression on his face that was caught between amusement and unbridled annoyance.   
  
“I must say this is one of the most unique turnouts for chasing a bounty I’ve experienced in quite a while,” Kravitz laughed, still using his cockney accent.   
  
“I’m nothing if I’m not original,” Taako smiled, giving Kravitz a good long look over. “Man, I never expected Death to be so charming. You’re really selling me on this whole ‘departing to the Astral Plane’ gimmick you’ve got going on. Guess your boss knew to send the pretty boy to win me over, huh?”   
  
Kravitz pressed a hand to his mouth to hide the edges of his smile. “Pretty boy?” he repeated.   
  
“There is one thing, though. Kind of a little thing, but it’s throwing off the whole experience of this for me,” Taako said, tipping his head to the side and laughing. “You have got to lose that ridiculous accent, it’s horrendous.”   
  
Kravitz blinked, his mouth gaping open and shut for a few seconds. “I can’t, uh...I can’t lose my accent, it’s totally real and-”   
  
“Ya can’t fake a faker, buddo,” Taako shook his head slowly. “I know dramatic flair when I see it, I put a fuckin’ hallmark on that biz when I was still in diapers, mmmkay?”   
  
Kravitz laughed, his posture relaxing. “You and your friends really aren’t intimidated by me at all, are you?”   
  
“That’s a negative,” Taako smiled, sticking his tongue out. “So, look, are we good? Or are you still hellbent on taking my ass to Astral Jail?”   
  
“I, uh, I sort of figured that out with Magnus and Merle down in the lab,” Kravitz said. “I just came here to let you know that I’ve got my eye on you, essentially.”   
  
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”   
  
“And that since you and your boys never checked into the Astral Plane, you never really escaped. So, I’ve called off your bounty.”   
  
“Oh, so, you’ve been duping me this whole time is what you’re trying to say here?”   
  
“Pretty much,” Kravitz nodded, suppressing a laugh as he smiled at Taako. “Sorry if that’s-”   
  
“No, hey, I’m used to it,” Taako waved a hand. “Must be payback for all the times I’ve duped people myself. What goes around comes around, and all that morality shit.”   
  
“I mean, I feel like I must clarify that the next time you die, that’s it,” Kravitz said, wagging a finger at Taako. “No more Mister Nice Death, okay?”   
  
“I can’t wait,” Taako winked. “Love me a bad boy, what can I say?”   
  
Kravitz laughed. “Yeah, me too.”   
  
“Came to the right place, alright,” Taako grinned, gesturing around at his prison cell.   
  
Kravitz gave Taako another smile. “Well, look, I’d love to stay. I really would. But souls don’t direct themselves to the Astral Plane, as you and your friends have repeatedly proven.”   
  
Taako laughed. “Okay then, Mister Nice Death,” he reached out and tugged on one of the lapels of Kravitz’s suit jacket. “But listen, if you’ve ever got a spare minute, come and see me again sometime. Lemme know if those two dunderheads die anymore without visiting you, I’m sure you and I can work something out.”   
  
“Oh, I will,” Kravitz said, taking a step back. “Goodbye, Taako.”   
  
“Bye, Krav,” Taako gave a little wave. And then he blinked. And then he was alone again.   
  
Giving a tired sigh, Taako looked to the scrap of paper he still had clutched in a shaking grip. The paper’s yellowed edges only served to drive home to Taako the gut-wrenching irony of the promise scrawled in a familiar hand, sealed with a kiss colored with his sister’s favorite lipstick.

_Back soon._

Slumping into his seat at the table, Taako ran his thumb over the edge of the note. He wanted so badly for that message to come true; especially while he was trapped in a jail cell, feeling more alone than ever.

But Angus had been given clearance to come visit him, and that at least gave Taako something to plan for. Tucking his sister’s note safely in his pocket, Taako grabbed for a blank sheet of paper and a pencil from his pile of junk on the table. Setting to work, Taako began to craft his own epic right there. He hashed out as many specific details as he could, and where details failed and had to be rewritten Taako would do what he did best and made shit up. After all, he had a story to tell. And nothing was going to stop him.

 


	3. Character Sheets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus pays a visit. Taako tells a story. Sildar Hallwinter gets a piggyback ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shows up seven months later with Starbucks* 
> 
> I can't even talk. This took so long to write. I was so busy and so depressed and had such bad writer's block and I'm so proud of myself for even finishing this chapter. I refuse to make any promises about a regular update schedule, just trust me when I say I still wanna finish this fic. I'm sorry if it takes me forever and you don't want to wait that long, but I'm just struggling to do my best rn honestly.
> 
> Thank-you for reading, ily.

“So, what kind of pull do you have where the Director’s granting you permission to enter the brig?”

Angus craned his neck to look up at Carey Fangbattle, the Regulator who’d been assigned to escort him to his first official visit to see Taako in the Director’s stead while she was away on her spa trip with Merle. Her tone was casual and friendly enough, but Angus could tell she was genuinely baffled that access to the Bureau’s one and only prisoner had been given to a ten-year-old boy.

“Well ma’am, I just expressed to Madam Director that I needed help with my job of providing live intel to the two active Reclaimers and she agreed that Mister Taako was the best person for that particular job,” Angus answered in partial earnesty.

“Huh!” Carey clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth. “Just like that she said yes?”

“It did take a bit of convincing on my part, but I’m not one to give up when such an important resource is at hand,” Angus answered.

Carey laughed at that. “If that’s what you wanna call him,” she remarked. “Never personally met the guy myself, but from what Killian has told me, this Taako guy is a real piece of sh- uh, work -a real piece of work.”

It was Angus’ turn to laugh. “You can swear in front of me, ma’am,” he said as the two approached the small dome that led down to the brig and pushed inside. “It’s true, Taako’s not the easiest person to get along with by a long shot, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be useful in the Bureau’s mission to destroy the Grand Relics.”

“I guess,” Carey shrugged as they both came to stop in front of the elevator at the end of long hall that made up the inside of the dome. “What’s up guys?” she greeted the guards with a casual wave. “Just here to take little Angus to his playdate with a convicted criminal, you know.”

“Right, yeah,” the guard on the left nodded. “The Director spoke with us before she left for the spa. You’re good to go, Angus.”

“Carey, you’ll have to wait up here,” the guard on the right added. “The Director didn’t give clearances for you, so…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m miles ahead of ya,” Carey waved one hand and dug in her pocket with other, pulling out her stone of far speech and clicking it on. “Got your stone on, Angus?”

Angus dug into his own pocket, taking out his stone of far speech and raising it to his mouth. “Yes, ma’am,” he spoke into it, smiling as he heard his own voice echo back to him on Carey’s stone.

“Great. So, like we talked about, leave your stone on mute and keep it in your pocket,” Carey said, reaching out and tucking the stone back into Angus’ pocket and out of sight. “In my experience, criminals don’t take too well to being surveilled; and the Director emphasized how important it was to keep these visits friendly and relatively...inoffensive for both of you.”

“Got it,” Angus nodded, stepping away from Carey and moving towards the elevator doors. “I don’t think there’s any reason to worry, though, really.”

“You’re the Bureau’s only kid, Angus. Why don’t you let us worry about you a little bit?” Carey grinned, stepping back with her arms crossed as the elevator doors pinged open.

“I understand, ma’am,” Angus strode into the elevator, turning so he could face Carey and smile. “In that case, please, continue to worry about me at all costs.”

With that, the elevator doors closed and Angus was on his way down to the cellblock. After a short while, the doors pinged open and Angus was striding past the rows of empty cells until he came to the one occupied at the end of the hall.

But when Angus strode up to the cell, he found it empty as well. At least, that’s how it appeared at first glance. Standing there dumbfounded for a moment, Angus heard a clatter from behind one of the doors at the back of the cell.

“Hello?” Angus called. More clattering ensued, followed a by a string a curse words before the door in question was flung open and Taako hurled out.

Taako was dressed in some intricate, brightly-colored jacket with about a million laces up the sleeves and down the front. His hair was shiny and combed into a braid that swung over his shoulder, and there was one of his trademark high pointed hats perched on top of his head. As he emerged from the doorway, he sashayed over to Angus and grinned down at the child.

“I thought you’d never come, Agnes,” Taako said.

“Did you dress up for me, sir?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Taako gave a flippant wave of his hand. “I always dress like this.”

“Really?” Angus asked. “You didn’t look like this last time I saw you.”

“Jokes on you, Detective, that was a deliberate Look™ by yours truly,” Taako retorted. “Pretty soon everyone will be claiming that style, mark my words. So, you got permission from the Big Bad Director to come see me, huh? How’d you swing that?”

“The Director trusts me, sir,” Angus said.

“Uh-huh, sure she does,” Taako grinned. “In that case, I bet you were completely up front with our dear Director about why it was you wanted to come see me, then.”

“Well, I was genuine in that I really do want your help with understanding the Grand Relics, since you were a Reclaimer and all,” Angus said. “Any other reasons may or may not have been mentioned, but she knows I would never do something to compromise the safety of the Bureau.”  

Taako laughed, tossing his hair back over his shoulder and giving Angus a sly wink. “Yeah, I guess you came to the right place if you wanted to know about the Grand Relics. I’m basically as close to a fucking expert on the subject as you’re gonna get the chance to shake down on this phony ass moon.”

After that, an uncomfortable silence settled over the brig; making both Taako and Angus all too well aware that they were completely alone down there.

“Are you going to tell me that story now, sir?” Angus asked, realizing he really didn’t have anything better to say to break the silence.

Taako furrowed his brow and peered down at the little boy looking expectantly up at him. “What story?”

“The epic?” Angus said. “You know, the one you said was better than my ‘nerd books’?”

“Oh, right!” Taako snapped his fingers in recollection, collapsing in the nearest chair and kicking his gangly legs out like two bendy straws. “Yeah, for sure, for sure. Let me just, uh...Hm.”

Angus suppressed a small giggle at the sight of Taako pressing a finger to his lips in utter befuddlement; it was a nice change of pace from the wizard’s constant barrage of snappy comebacks. “Were you lying about the story, sir? It’s okay if you made it up, I-”

“Would you please zippeth thine lips?” Taako leaned over in his chair and mimed pulling a zipper closed over Angus’ mouth. “First, all stories are made up; so, jot that down. Second, I wasn’t lying. Just give me a moment to get in the zone.”

“Alright,” Angus said, lowering himself down and sitting cross-legged on the brig’s shiny white floor. Making sure Taako wasn’t looking, Angus passed a hand over his pocket and made sure the stone of far speech was still tucked out of sight.

Sitting up straight, Taako puffed his chest out and made a big show of clearing his voice. Then, after tiring of his momentary good posture, Taako slouched back in his seat and took a deep breath. Clapping his hands once, he gave the room a once over to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Taako announced, primping his hair with an elegant flip of his hand. “This is a story about a group of…” Taako paused, mulling over his next words carefully. After a moment’s deliberation, a sly smile spread across the elf’s face. “...bandits,” he finished.

“Bandits...” Angus echoed.

“Yeah, bandits,” Taako nodded, his frame relaxing slightly. “They were all miscreants in their own rights, but together? They could pull off anything. And because of their combined strength, they were the only people in all the land who dared to challenge the domain’s evil tyrant leader: Governor Ravenous.”

“Governor Ravenous?” Angus squinted up at Taako. “That’s his name?”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure it wasn’t like his Christian name or whatever. This guy was a major edgelord, ya feel?” Taako explained. “Anyways, so, this group of bandits had stolen something from Governor Edgelord that wasn’t really his but he acted like it because he was just a complete asshole.”

“What’d they steal?”

“Uh…” Taako’s eyes darted up to the ceiling as he thought up an answer. “Spoons,” he blurted out. “Yeah, they each took a spoon from this guy’s silverware set that was worth a hell of a lot when complete, but only worth a fraction of that cost when it was missing even a piece.”

“Wow, that sounds familiar!” Angus leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and putting his chin in his hands.

“I thought it might,” Taako said with a grin. “But, circumstances being what they were, they were only able to grab one spoon per bandit. Still, though, that’s like...seven spoons. I mean, goodbye to any big soup-eating plans for the foreseeable future.”

“So, there were seven bandits?” Angus asked.

“Huh?” Taako looked caught off guard for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah...Great detective work on that one, Ango. Anyways, they really didn’t have any plans for these spoons; they just kind of stole them to fuck with this Governor Ravenous guy. So, they didn’t keep them.”

“What’d they do with them?”

“I dunno, just tossed them to the wind,” Taako waved a dismissive hand. “But, I mean, of course they were found out. So, Governor Ravenous had them exiled to a barren island in the middle of a black sea in the hopes that they would devour each other in their struggle to survive.”

Angus grimaced. “Did they?”

Taako winked. “I guess you’re just gonna have to wait and find out. Before we get to that, though, some introductions are in order,” Taako said, cracking his knuckles as he made a thoughtful expression at the nearest wall. “Uhhhhhh...Okay…

“The first was this Major Nerd named, uh...Sildar Hallwinter,” Taako began with a smirk, playing with one of the rings on his hand. “He had once been hailed as a top expert on some real science shit, renowned throughout the realms. But the Governor feared Sildar’s knowledge would lead to his undoing, and had him disbarred from practicing scientific law or whatever it is scientists do. Basically, his entire career and credibility went down the toilet after that. So, Sildar swore that he would be responsible for Governor Ravenous’ death.”

Angus nodded, thinking over the character description for a second. “I like him,” he decided, giving Taako a thumbs-up.

“Great, I’m over the fake moon,” Taako replied with a thumbs-down. “The second bandit was...Hm…” Taako paused and thought for a moment. Crossing his arms and furrowing his brow, he shook his head a few times before ultimately shrugging and continuing with his story. “He was an ex-fighter for the governor’s royal battle arena named Bo Didley.”

Angus lit up with recognition. “Hey! That was-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, great. Don’t interrupt me, pumpkin,” Taako cut Angus off. “Anyways, Bo was the strongest fighter in the arena and could defeat any opponent he was faced with. However, he had one critical weakness: He would not fight animals. In fact, he felt so strongly about this that once during another fighter’s battle with a dog, he had jumped into the arena and defended the animal, even when the governor ordered him to stop. Bo won the fight, but had lost favor with Governor Ravenous. As punishment, the governor had the dog he had defended killed and Bo was banished from the realm. It was then that Bo Didley swore that he would be responsible for Governor Ravenous’ death.”

“I like him, too,” Angus said.

“The third was a mystic named…” Taako looked at Angus and grinned at the analytical gleam in the child’s eyes. “...Leeman Kessler.” Taako dropped the name and Angus’ eyebrows lifted up over his glasses. Taako smiled, but said nothing about Angus’ reaction.

“At one time,” Taako continued. “Kessler had been considered the closest thing the governor could ever have to a friend. The two met occasionally in what was Kessler’s one-sided attempt to establish peace with the tyrannical ruler. When the governor’s, shall we say, utter dickishness was made apparent, Kessler realized he could not reason with someone who was convinced he’d already found the right answer. Against his desire to keep the peace, Leeman swore he would be responsible for Governor Ravenous’ death.”

“The fourth had once been captain of a great rebellion against the governor,” Taako continued, fully swept up in his storytelling. “But Governor Ravenous’ army had defeated and captured the band of rebels, leaving their captain stranded in the middle of a barren wasteland. Without the command of their leader, the rebels had quickly succumbed to the power of Governor Ravenous; and those who did not join his side, were killed. Ashamed of his failure to protect those under his charge, the captain left behind his identity in that wasteland; vowing to only reclaim it after he had exacted vengeance for his crew. And so, he swore he would be responsible for Governor Ravenous’ death.”

“That’s a lot of people who want this guy dead,” Angus remarked.

“Yeah, well, whatcha gonna do?” Taako shrugged. “Can’t say I haven’t been in that position myself.”

“Wanting someone dead or having people want you dead?” Angus asked.

“Yes,” Taako nodded, stretching his arms behind his back. “Let’s get back to the story, huh?”

“Sounds good to me, sir,” Angus said.

Taako scoffed a laugh, stretching his arms in front of himself as he picked up where he left off. “The fifth was known only as... _The Chronicler_ …” Taako spoke slowly, as if testing whether the name was suitable or not. Satisfied with the resounding nothing that followed the namedrop, Taako shrugged and kept talking. “No one knew why she had been forced to join the group of bandits, and she never spoke of herself. All that was known of her was that she documented their every action in the stack of journals she carried with her at all times in a large burlap sack.

“That brings us to the final two,” Taako said, holding up two fingers as he did. “I have to announce them together, because they were a packaged deal. Twins, you know. They were ride or die, would have done anything for each other. There’s no big backstory as to how they ended up bandits, because it’s what they had always been. Runaway orphans, the two of them had grown up on the streets, pickpocketing to make it from one day to the next. As they got older and stealthier, they gained a reputation as the most infamous bandit duo in the whole of the realm. The brother was known as The Gap-Tooth Bandit, because of the gap between his two front teeth.”

“Like you?” Angus asked, pointing out the gap in Taako’s slanted grin.

“Exactly like me,” Taako nodded. “The sister, an explosives expert, was known as The Red Bandit, because of the scarlet cloak she wore at all times.”

“Did they want Governor Ravenous dead, too?”

“Not at first,” Taako held up a finger. “At first, they just wanted to rob him blind and if they had to smoke him, it would just be an added bonus. But in pulling off the silverware heist with the other bandits, the two of them met a hiccup. You see, in going to dispose of the silver spoons they’d stolen, the Red Bandit had the ingenious idea of adding insult to injury. Breaking away from the group, she ran back to set the governor’s palace ablaze. The other bandits waited for her return, but she never came. And that is where our story begins.”

* * *

 The captain burst from the choppy black waves, gasping for air. Trudging through the bright white sand that had gone cold in the moonlight, he rejoined the group of bandits who were awaiting his arrival.

“Is it true?” Sildar asked immediately. The captain nodded once, wringing the water from his fine coat. Sildar turned to the Gap-Tooth Bandit, who was the only one of them who had not rushed to meet their friend. “The captain says the rumors are true. Governor Ravenous has your sister and will put her to death when the sun reaches the middle of the sky.”

The Gap-Tooth Bandit stayed quiet for a moment where he sat, grinding his closed fist into the cold sand beneath him. Then, he sprang to his feet; and dusting off his clothes, turned to his fellow bandits. “I must swim to shore and save my sister’s life. Who is with me?”

A resounding cheer of assent rang through the five others gathered on the island. It seemed the vote was unanimous. Until Sildar stepped forward with an unsure expression plastered on his nervous face.

“I have a confession to make before we do anything further,” he said, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes in shame. “I don’t know how to swim.”

The Gap-Tooth Bandit’s eyes boggled, astonished at this revelation. “Well, fuck.”

“Couldn’t we just teach him?” Bo asked. “It’s not that hard.”

“We don’t have time!” Gap-Tooth declared, pushing past the others to stand at the shoreline. Even from this distance, he could make out the outline of the Governor’s palace where his sister was certainly being held.

“What do you suggest we do?” Leeman asked from where he was leaned back on his elbows, relaxing in the sand as if this were nothing but an impromptu vacation for him.

“I don’t know, why don’t _you_ think of something for once!?” Gap-Tooth shot back over his shoulder, rolling his eyes.

All was quiet for a moment, when The Chronicler cleared her throat. The others turned to where she was standing at the captain’s side, and saw her pointing at something in the distance that had appeared with the rising sun. Turning their gazes with the curve of her finger, the bandits saw what she had been pointing at. It was a small herd of elephants, bathing in the shallow water near the shore.

“Elephants are very strong swimmers,” The Chronicler said matter-of-factly. “If we can beckon them over here, Sildar can ride one to shore.”

“I’ll handle this,” Bo said, stepping into the surf and calling out to the elephants. It sounded more like something someone might call to an adorable puppy, but it did the trick. The elephants began to swim towards the island.

With Sildar on the back of one of the elephants, the bandits made their way to shore. As they reached the mainland, the morning sun climbed higher into the sky. Still only sunrise, but high enough to give each bandit a sense of unease at the thought of the Red Bandit being put to death in a few hours should they fail.

Passing through a barren wasteland, the bandits came to a screeching halt when Leeman fell to his knees in despair.

“This was once a lush wilderness,” he spoke, gathering a few dry twigs in his hands and shaking his head. “But that damned governor has taken everything living and used it to fuel his own power.”

As Leeman knelt lamenting on the ground, Bo spied something shimmering in the murking stream. Hurling his antique knife through the air, it landed with a squelch in the shallow water. Going over and pulling the knife out by the hilt, Bo turned and smiled at his fellow bandits.

“I think I’ve got an idea,” he said, pointing to two silver fish that were speared on the rusted hilt of his knife.

Continuing to the governor’s palace, the bandits reached the gatehouse as the sun was nearing the middle of the sky. Bo, disguised as a fish salesman, ran out into plain sight first; offering to sell the fish he’d caught to the two guards who were stood watch at the entrance to the palace grounds.

The two shadowy guards, in armor so black and heavy it looked to be made of lead, clambered down the stairs to inspect the supposed salesman calling out to them. When the two of them were close enough, Bo tossed the fish aside, reached out, and clanged the guards’ heads together. As the guards fell to the ground, Bo whistled for the others to join him.

“Excellent work, Bo,” the captain said.

“Right,” Gap-Tooth nodded. “Now, let’s go save my sister before it’s too-”

* * *

 The clatter of a small stone hitting the prison floor stopped Taako mid-narration. Narrowing his eyes, Taako pointed his finger at the small object that had fallen out of Angus’ pocket.

“What’s that?” Taako asked.

Angus looked confused for a moment, having been wrapped up in the story; but he looked to where Taako was pointing and felt the blood rush from his head.

“Uh, nothing, sir,” Angus said, moving to stuff the stone of far speech back in his pocket. “It’s just a cool rock I found, that’s all.”

“Oh, really?” Taako lifted his eyebrows, standing from his chair and extending his palm until his fingertips were pressed against the Barrier. “If it’s just a ‘cool rock’ then let me see it. Give it here.”

“Um…” Angus’s eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at Taako. He knew if he tried to hand the magical object over, it wouldn’t be able to pass through the barrier.

“That’s what I thought, you little liar,” Taako crossed his arms. “I know a Stone of Far Speech when I see one, and I sure as hell know when it’s turned on.”

Angus pressed his clammy hands together. “Please, sir, I was only-”

“Do you want to know what happened to the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s sister?” Taako asked abruptly.

Angus, not liking the venom in Taako’s voice, shook his head. “...No.”

Taako blinked, his mouth drawing into a thin line. “Well, that’s good,” he nodded. “Because the bandits didn’t find out either. When they got into the palace, the whole joint had been packed up in a hurry. It was empty. And the Red Bandit? She wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere. She was just gone. And that’s what you need to be, too. Get out of here,” Taako snapped, jabbing a finger in the direction of the elevator.

“Sir, I’m-”

“I said: ‘Get out!’” Taako repeated, his voice losing composure the angrier he because. Giving a small gasp, Angus turned and ran for the elevator. “And tell Madam Director the next time she wants to eavesdrop on me, she should do better than sending a twelve-year-old to do the job!”

That was the last Angus heard of Taako’s voice before the elevator doors shut behind him. Digging his Stone of Far Speech out of his pocket, Angus turned the sound on and spoke into it.

“Carey?” Angus asked, leaning back against the cold metal of the elevator’s walls.

“I think he took that well,” Carey’s voice came through, sounding slightly concerned even though her tone was light. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Angus said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I’ll be up in a minute, okay?”

“Okay,” Carey said, and then her line clicked off.

Letting the air leave his chest in a big huff, Angus tried to think clearly about what was happening. On the surface, it seemed as if Taako really was just telling him a story; but he had also promised that this story would give him the answers he was looking for. There were clues being laid down in the story’s framework, that was for sure, but Angus couldn’t quite figure out what they meant.

One thing was for sure, now that he had started working on this case, Angus wouldn’t stop until he had it completely solved. No matter what, Angus knew he had to find out how this story would end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone was confused on the codenames:
> 
> Sildar Hallwinter - Barry Bluejeans  
> Leeman Kessler - Merle  
> Bo Didley - Magnus  
> The Chronicler - Lucretia  
> "the captain" - Davenport  
> The Red Bandit - Lup  
> The Gap-Tooth Bandit - Taako


	4. Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucretia rushes in (kind of). Taako apologizes (kind of). Angus catches on (kind of).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates? In one week? It's more likely than you think.

Lucretia strode out of the elevator with a huff, the bottom of her staff tapping against the brig’s floor as she made her way to see Taako. 

“Taako?” she called out as she rounded on her friend’s cell. “We need to talk.”

Taako had been standing at his kitchen counter, stirring a large orange mixing bowl with a wooden spoon; but when Lucretia showed up, he turned to smirk at her with one hand on his hip.

“You need to talk-o with Taako, huh?” he winked, giving a sharp giggle at his own joke.

Lucretia sighed, walking forward and passing through the barrier with ease. “I’m serious,” she said, stepping over to join Taako at the counter.

“That-” Taako took his mixing spoon out of the bowl and jabbed it in Lucretia’s direction, holding it between them to keep her at a distance. “-is quite close enough.” 

Lucretia wrinkled her nose at the pink batter dripping from Taako’s spoon. Blinking in surprise, the stoic set to Lucretia’s face softened a fraction as she realized what the batter was for.

“Are you making your elderflower macarons?” she asked in a hushed voice, as if afraid that swarms of ravenous people would come running at the mere mention of Taako’s baking.

“Yes, and don’t get excited because they’re not for you,” Taako said, turning back to resume his methodical stirring. “So, what’d you want to talk to me about?”

“Right,” Lucretia cleared her throat and stood up straight. “I came to tell you that I received news of your behavior towards Angus the other day. How dare you yell at him? He’s just a little boy.”

“Jeez, oh man, here we fuckin’ go,” Taako’s posture slouched as he rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Stabbing his spoon into the batter, he turned to face Lucretia. “I did not yell at him, okay? I elevated my tone. There’s a difference.”

Lucretia gave a full-body sigh. “Taako, just once, would you admit you did something wrong?”

“Not to you, Lucy,” Taako said, both hands on his hips. “Is that everything?”

“Taako, if you can’t control your temper, I’m not going to let Angus visit anymore,” Lucretia warned.

“Hey, be my guest,” Taako shrugged, giving an unconcerned flick of his eyebrows at the warning. “The kid’s been nothing but a thorn in my side. Always interrupting, asking stupid questions, finishing my sentences…It’s not exactly something I look forward to.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“No, you don’t,” Lucretia insisted. “I can tell you enjoy having someone to talk to who isn’t me.”

Taako crossed his arms and turned away, the perfect image of a petulant teenager. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Taako!” Lucretia actually laughed, even if it was mingled with exasperation. “I know an uncomfortably expansive amount about you.”

“Well, why don’t you voidfish it out of your brain, if it’s so uncomfortable?” Taako asked, whipping around to flick Lucretia right between the eyes. “Seemed to work to your advantage when you did it to everyone else.”

Lucretia took a deep breath, not giving into Taako’s blatant argument baiting. “Just...be nice to Angus, if it’s not too much trouble,” she said.

Taako rolled his eyes, turning back to his bowl of batter once more. “I’m always nice,” he muttered.

Lucretia stifled a laugh, and Taako pointed a finger at the entrance to his cell.

“Okay, you’ve worn out your welcome in this prison cell, chucklehead,” he said, trying so damn hard not to crack a smile in front of Lucretia. “Go on, get out of here!”

“Whatever you say,” Lucretia gave a sarcastic salute before turning and walking out of the cell, heading towards the elevator as Taako rolled his eyes.

Neither knew it, but it was the first conversation they’d had in a while that ended with both of them smiling.

* * *

A few hours later that same day, Angus stood in the elevator taking deep breaths as the compartment delved down to the brig. He was holding a notebook in one hand, and his stone of far speech in his other hand. As the elevator doors opened, Angus pulled his shoulders back and held his high. He was determined to smooth things over with Taako. 

Angus wasn’t sure what kind of welcome he’d been expecting after the prior day’s events, but Taako turning from the kitchen area to greet him with a plate of freshly baked pastries while wearing a “Kiss The Cook” apron wasn’t it.

“Ango!” he called, coming up to the barrier with an easygoing smile on his face. “About time you showed up.”

“Sir, I wanted to apologize about surprising you with my stone of far speech the other day,” Angus said immediately, holding up the stone in question for reference. “Part of my being allowed to come visit you is that a Bureau member must be listening on the other end of this stone to make sure we’re not discussing anything we shouldn’t be. I should have been honest with you about it, I’m sorry.”

“Eh, don’t sweat it. I honestly should have expected as much,” Taako shrugged, shoving the plate of macarons at Angus so it was partially extended from the barrier. “Here, I made these.”

Angus took the plate in his hands. “For me?”

“Well, I mean, I’m not gonna eat them,” Taako said, leaning one elbow against the wall and gesturing at himself. “Gotta watch the ol’ figure, you know.”

“I think you look very nice, sir,” Angus said.

“Oh, go on,” Taako smiled.

Angus giggled, situating himself on the ground in front of Taako’s cell. Setting the plate down next to him, Angus gave the pink macarons a thoughtful look. “Sir, you didn’t happen to bake these as an apology for getting angry at me, did you?”

“A- Pfft! -A  _ what _ !?” Taako replied a little too fast, pressing a hand to his chest and looking quite scandalized. “No, of course I didn’t! I just, uh, I made them to set the mood for the story. Our gap-toothed hero was a hella chef, did you know that?”

“No, sir, I didn’t know that!” Angus said, letting the topic of apologies drop. Picking up his notebook, Angus untucked a pen from behind his ear and pressed it to a clean page. “A chef?” he repeated, writing without taking his eyes off of Taako. “Like you?”

The smile on Taako’s face spread wider. “ _ Exactly  _ like me,” he said. “He and his sister both were great chefs.”

Angus propped his chin in one hand, his fingers pressing into his lower lip. “He must have been worried for her when she went missing.”

Taako’s spine went rigid and his smile drooped, he seemed caught off guard by the statement. “Uh, yeah,” he nodded, pushing off the wall and turning his back to Angus. “Yeah, he sure was.”

While Taako made a big production of taking off his apron and hanging it up on a peg near the kitchen, Angus scribbled something into his notebook. A question to think about later.

After hanging up his apron, Taako ran a hand through his hair and finally turned back around so Angus could see his face. “Okay,” he said, his expression a calculated neutral. Sitting down in his usual chair, Taako settled his elbows on his knees and leaned over so his face was almost level with Angus’. “Let’s pick up where we left off, shall we?”

* * *

The Gap-Tooth Bandit kicked a discarded candelabra across the abandoned palace’s marble floor. It crashed against a decorative suit of armor, making for the only noise in the room of bandits as it toppled to the ground. No one dared say a word just then, knowing how angry the Gap-Tooth Bandit was. His sister was nowhere to be found, and by the looks of it, he’d missed finding her by mere minutes. 

It was Sildar who broke the silence first. Coming up next to Gap-Tooth, he placed a reassuring arm around his friend’s shoulders. “Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll find her.”

If it had been anyone else, the Gap-Tooth Bandit would have shrugged them off with a smart remark. Over their months spent together, he’d come to trust Sildar almost as much as he trusted his sister. But only almost. There was no one he could ever trust as much as the Red Bandit.

“If I figure correctly…” the captain said. “...and I usually do; then, the guards will have taken any and all valuables from this location to the Imperial City. That includes your sister, Gap-Tooth.”

“Great news!” Leeman said. “Only problem is: No one knows where the Imperial City is located.”

“Hey,” The Chronicler called over her shoulder. “Look what I found!”

She had been sifting through the armor Gap-Tooth had knocked over, and was now brandishing the breastplate in her calloused hands. Once she had her fellow bandits’ attention, she flipped the breastplate over to reveal an old parchment map of the realm. Circled on the Eastern Coast was a star labelled ‘Imperial City’.

“Well, that’s convenient,” Sildar remarked, the briefest of skeptical glances darting over The Chronicler’s placid expression.

“There’s no time to waste,” Gap-Tooth said, poring over the map briefly and then whirling around to orient himself in the right direction. “We travel East,” he announced with a gesture of his hand. “I swear on my life, I will bring an end to Governor Ravenous’ reign of tyranny on this realm.”

So, the bandits headed towards the Imperial City. At first, it seemed the journey would be fairly straightforward from that point. But as the terrain grew more and more desolate, the six of them realized perhaps they had been too hasty to derive any sense of security from their unstable situation. After a few days travel in an empty desert, the group’s determination was beginning to dwindle.

“Here, Bo,” The Chronicler passed the map to her friend. “You can carry this for a while. I don’t think we’ll be changing direction any time soon.”

Bo only nodded absentmindedly, not really listening to a word The Chronicler was saying. Taking the map in hand, Bo squinted at the scrawlings and tried to remember why they were important. But the truth was, he’d only been half-listening when they’d uncovered the map; and couldn’t recall what they needed it for.

“Hey, Kessler,” Bo nudged the mystic, who was trudging alongside him. “Do you dare me to eat this?”

Leeman didn’t even look up to see what potentially ingestible item was in Bo’s hands, he was too dogged by the heat of the burning afternoon sun. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “I dare ya. Now, shut up and eat whatever the hell that is.”

“Okay, so, I think if we can go a few more miles before sunset, we’ll be able to- BO, STOP!” the captain cried out, having turned around just in time to catch Bo shoving the last corner of the map into his mouth.

“What!?” Bo jumped, swallowing the mound of chewed up paper in his mouth.

“That was our map to the Imperial City, you boob!” the Gap-Tooth Bandit shouted.

“Oh shit, that’s what that was for!” Bo’s eyes widened in realization. “Well,” he pointed an accusatory finger at Leeman, who stood dumbfounded next to him. “Leeman dared me to!”

The bandits then broke out in a quarrel, each one blaming anyone but themselves for their woes. While they were fighting, though, an unforeseen encounter burgeoned on the horizon.

“Bandits?” The Chronicler spoke up, pointing out to the stretch of land ahead of them. “I think we have bigger problems to worry about.”

Letting their argument dissipate, each bandit turned to see what The Chronicler had noticed coming their way. It was a black caravan, bearing the seal of Governor Ravenous’ army, and it was headed straight for them.

“What do we do now?” Sildar asked.

“We’re gonna have to fight,” Bo replied, punching a fist into his open palm.   

“Looks like Bo is right,” the captain nodded, squaring up his shoulders. “Brace yourselves.”

“But first,” Gap-Tooth held up his hand, halting the others in their tracks. “Tell me, Angus, do you know any magic?”

* * *

“You can’t stop there!” Angus protested when Taako’s narration ended. 

“I just wanted to see if you know any magic,” Taako said casually, picking at a stray thread poking out of his sleeve; his eyes flicked up from the hot pink fabric of his shirt and locked on Angus’ face. “Do you?”

“No, I don’t, sir,” Angus shook his head, a little confused by the suddenness of the question. “I always wanted to learn, though. Would you teach me?”

“Me?” Taako raised his eyebrows in surprise. He gave an airy laugh, avoiding eye contact by examining the ends of his braid. “Sure, if Madam Director gives her sayso. Gonna be kinda hard to strut my stuff for ya with this cell putting the kibosh on my powers, but I’d do my best.”

“I’m sure you would, sir,” Angus nodded, bouncing a little in anticipation. “Can we get back to the story now?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah,” Taako tapped a finger against his chin. “Where was I?”

“The black caravan.”

“Right!” Taako snapped his fingers. “The black caravan.”

* * *

The black caravan was pulled by no horses and had no coachman. As it screeched to a halt in front of the bandits, all six of them wondered at who or what was contained within such an ominous vehicle. 

A door on the side of the caravan swung back on its creaking hinges, and a conspiracy of ravens erupted from the cab. The bandits watched as the birds swarmed around their small group, forming a dome so dense it nearly blocked out all sunlight. Only a few flittering rays of light remained, darting back and forth as if setting on rippling waves.

Looking to the open door, the bandits watched with trepidation as a set of black-booted feet stepped down out of the caravan and turned towards them. The door slammed shut, and the sole occupant of the caravan stepped into view.

It was none other than Death himself.

“Are we dead?” Bo whispered.

“No, but you’re about to be,” The Chronicler said. “The ink on that map is poisonous.” 

“What the-” Bo’s eyes boggled out of his head as he whipped towards Leeman. “You’ve gotta heal me, right now.”

“What, me!?” Leeman clarified, gesturing to himself.

“Isn’t healing what you do?” Bo asked, dropping to his knees in front of the mystic.

“I mean, I guess I can try,” Leeman scoffed, rubbing his hands together and beginning to mutter some incantations.

While Leeman attempted to save Bo’s life, the other bandits turned towards their visitor. Death stood tall and proud, his mighty scythe held aloft. Red eyes peered out at the bandits from amidst his handsome face, and each bandit felt a shiver run up their spine when they looked at him.

The Gap-Tooth Bandit stepped forward first. “If it’s at all possible, could you not kill Bo?” he asked. “We kind of need him. Which is hard to believe given the fact he just ate our only map, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

Death didn’t respond to Gap-Tooth’s request; he only tilted his head at the bandit and furrowed his brow. “Do I know you from somewhere?” Death asked. “You seem familiar, but I can’t tell with that mask covering half your face.”

* * *

“Hold on,” Angus cut Taako off. “You never said the Gap-Tooth Bandit was wearing a mask.” 

“Well, I’m saying it now!” Taako crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “Quit interrupting me, jeez.”

* * *

The Gap-Tooth Bandit touched the mask tied around his eyes and smiled at Death. “Can never be too careful with throwing around your identity,” he said. “Anyway, about Bo…” 

“If he dies, he dies,” Death gave a noncommittal shrug. “I have no control over the time nor the place, I just collect the souls and deliver them to Governor Ravenous.”

“I thought you were supposed to deliver them to the afterlife?” Sildar asked, keeping an eye on where Leeman was still attempting to heal Bo.

“Once, that was true,” Death nodded. “But since the governor’s rule has spread to so much of the realm, his control has gotten out of hand. He claims jurisdiction over even me, now; and I am beholden to his whims. Hardly anyone dies of natural causes these days. It is all by design,” Death looked over to where Bo was kneeling in front of Leeman and smiled. “Although, I think that your friend has nothing to fear from me, today.”

The other bandits all swiveled around and looked at Bo. It appeared that Leeman had been able to extract the poison and salvage the map. What had once been printed on the parchment was now printed on Bo’s skin.

“Well, that worked out,” Gap-Tooth blinked in surprise. Then, with a flourished turn, he approached Death and threw his arms around Death’s cloaked shoulders. “Now, then, are you sure there’s nothing we can do to get you to stop delivering souls to Governor Ravenous?”

“‘Fraid not, love,” Death said, disentangling himself from the bandit’s embrace. Reaching for his scythe, he gave the Gap-Tooth Bandit a parting smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to be-”

Death stopped speaking as he realized his scythe, the very thing that gave him the power to shepherd souls, was no longer in his hand. As he looked up in shock, he realized that his scythe was now held in the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s deft grip.

“Professional tip,” Gap-Tooth grinned as he tossed the scythe over his shoulder to Sildar, who caught the weapon and aimed it at Death. “Never let a bandit near your valuables.”

“You- Why you-” Death spluttered. “You give that back right this instant or I’ll-”

“What? Kill us? Don’t make me laugh,” The Gap-Tooth Bandit challenged, giving a triumphant smirk as he placed both hands on Death’s shoulders and steered him towards the black caravan. “You work for us now,” Gap-Tooth announced, his fellow bandits at his heels. “Get in, everyone! The Imperial City awaits.”

* * *

“To be continued,” Taako said, a smug look on his face. 

“Aw, what!?” Angus groaned.

“You heard me,” Taako said, standing up and stretching his back. “Come back when you’ve got the Director’s permission to learn magic from me, and I’ll tell you what happens next.”

Angus squinted at Taako as he stood up. “You’re manipulating me.”

Taako shrugged. “Maybe,” he grinned. “If it bothers you, you could always stop coming to see me. No skin off my ass.”

“Hm,” Angus gathered his things in his arms, the plate of macarons balanced on top of his notebook. “Alright, sir, I’ll ask the Director’s permission. But either way, you owe me the next part of this story.”

“Sure thing,” Taako smiled. “Until next time, wonder boy.”


	5. Unlocked: Tragic Backstory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucretia says no. Angus makes a shocking discovery. Taako spills a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a little overworked and a little under the weather, so, this one took a little longer to write.

Angus sat at his small desk in his small dorm on the Bureau’s moon base, hunched over his notebook as he scratched down details he wasn’t even sure were worth the paper they were written on. Taako had said that the story would give him the answers he wanted, but that only worked if he asked the right questions. As it stood, Angus had no way to tell if he was looking at the right details or just looking at the ones that seemed the most obvious.

Obviously, for instance, one of the characters in the story was supposed to be Taako. That much Angus was sure of. And since the wizard wasn’t exactly the most humble person in the world, Angus could figure with some measure of certainty that Taako had inserted himself as the hero of the story. That and the fact that Taako had named one of the characters after one of his own most recognizable visible traits - the gap between his two front teeth - made Angus positive that he had at least that much locked in about the story’s hidden meaning.

The uses of the names “Leeman” and “Bo” were pretty obvious, too. Either Taako had deliberately chosen names he knew Angus would recognize, or he just didn’t think Angus remembered that much from their time spent in Rockport. But it didn’t really matter to Angus whether or not Taako had intended to make the associations so blatant, what mattered was that they were.

The other characters weren’t as easy, and Angus was loath to admit he was having trouble figuring out just who they could be. Especially because as far as he knew, Taako didn’t have any twin sister. And that thought made him doubt that the Gap-Tooth Bandit was even supposed to be Taako. It was _so obviously_ Taako; but none of it made sense when Angus tried to fit it all together. The entire story was just so...so...

With a huff, Angus closed the cover on his notebook and stood up from his desk. He’d learned from experience that sitting around and waiting for a problem to solve itself never worked. All Angus could figure to do right then was to keep playing along with Taako’s storytelling game.

Speaking of Taako, he was supposed to visit him that day. Angus didn’t want to miss it, because he knew it would probably be his last opportunity to visit with the wizard before Magnus and Merle started on their next mission. So, gathering up his necessary materials, Angus began to head out towards the brig.

As he walked the Bureau’s campus, Angus scanned the clusters of Bureau employees for the Director’s distinctive blue and white robes. This was decidedly more difficult than it should have been, since the uniforms for the B.O.B. were also blue and white. But luck seemed to be on Angus’ side that morning, because he spied the Director a little ways ahead and headed over to speak with her. She was accompanied, as always, by Davenport; but also by Magnus, who was bemoaning for the umpteenth time the Director’s restriction against dogs on the moon base.

“...but what if I promise to keep it on a leash at all times?” Magnus asked, hands folded in a pleading motion towards the Director. Angus caught the tail end of Magnus’ question as the young boy got close enough to listen in on the two’s conversation. “I swear, I won’t let it run off the moon! I have animal handling proficiency, I-”

“Magnus, how many times do I have to say ‘no’?” the Director said. She was trying her hardest to look annoyed, but Angus could tell she was fighting back a smile as Magnus continued to argue with her.

“You can’t deny the people what they want!” Magnus warned. He looked like he was about to say something else, when he noticed Angus’ amused face peeking up at him. “Oh, hey there, Ango.”

The Director looked where Magnus’ attention had turned and smiled at the young boy as well. “Good morning, Angus.”

“Good morning,” Angus said with a wave at all gathered parties.

“Hey, I’m starting a petition to get dogs on the moon. You wanna sign it?” Magnus asked.

“Uhh…” Angus looked between the two adults and suppressed a small smile. “Wouldn’t the dogs just run right off the moon, though, sir?”

Magnus rounded on the Director, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “You coached him to say that!”

“Magnus, please,” the Director said, actually laughing a little bit now.

“Alright, I see how it is. This isn’t over,” Magnus said, still pointing at the Director as he backed away from the group. Then, he looked to Angus and gave him a friendly wave. “See ya around, kiddo. And hey, tell Taako I said ‘hi’ next time you go see him, huh? I would tell him _myself_ , but obviously-”

“Magnus,” the Director cut him off with a slight shake of her head. “I’m sure Taako will be happy to hear from you whether or not you’re there in person.”  

“Okay, okay,” Magnus held up his hands in surrender. “Gotta go catch up with the old man, anyways. Smell ya later!”

The Director watched Magnus walk away across the campus for a moment before shaking her head as she let go of a sigh. Placing a gentle hand on Angus’ shoulder, the Director beckoned for him to walk with her.

“If I’m up to date with the Bureau schedule, then, you would be on your way to see Taako right now. Is that correct?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Angus nodded, falling into step beside the Director with ease.

“How’s all of that going?” she asked, her expression guarded. “I know he snapped at you the other day, and I...I just want to make sure you feel safe.”

“Oh, that? I’m fine, honest. He’s not as bad as he wishes he was,” Angus said, but then gave the Director a quizzical look. “I mean...Unless you know something about him that I don’t?”

“Hm?” the Director lifted her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Taako,” Angus said. “He’s not...You don’t think he’s dangerous, do you?”

“Oh, gods no,” the Director said. “Well, he is powerful. But no, I would never have allowed you to go visit him in the first place if I ever thought you would be in any danger.”

“Right,” Angus nodded, eyeing the approaching prison dome with a purse of his lips. “With that in mind, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

The Director hesitated for a moment, caught off guard, before nodding and saying, “Please, do.”

“Well, I was wondering…” he bit his lip and took a sudden interest in his shoes, determined to look anywhere but at the Director. “I was wondering if it would be okay for Taako to give me magic lessons?”

The Director froze in her tracks. Angus had to take a few steps back as he realized she wasn’t walking by his side any longer. Davenport wasn’t quite as quick to catch on as Angus, and stumbled into the Director with a wordless exclamation of surprise. The Director knelt down and apologized to Davenport, helping the gnome straighten out his jacket before she turned back to respond to Angus.

“It- He- Magic lessons?” she repeated, both hands clenching tightly around her white oak staff. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Well...He did, actually,” Angus said. “Last time I visited, he asked if I knew any magic. I don’t and when I told him that, he said he’d teach me.”

The Director only stared at Angus in silence, unsure how to respond.

“If that’s alright with you, of course, ma’am,” Angus added, palms growing sweatier and sweatier the longer the Director remained silent.

Taking a deep breath, the Director closed her eyes and looked thoughtful for a moment. When her eyes opened again, there was a grim set to them; and she motioned for Angus to walk with her as she picked up her stride toward the brig once more.

“Ma’am, am I in trouble?” Angus asked when the Director didn’t say anything as the three of them walked the Bureau’s campus.

“No, Angus, it’s not that,” the Director said, reaching a hand out and giving his head a reassuring pat. “I need to speak with Taako about this is all.”

Angus didn’t say anything else after that, figuring he would find out what this was all about sooner or later just by paying attention. Without another word between them, the Director and Angus made their way to the prison dome; leaving Davenport to wait just outside the elevator doors before heading down.

The Director was the first to exit the elevator, sweeping grandly past the rows of empty cells until she reached Taako’s, her staff tapping imperiously against the metal floor. Angus scrambled to keep up with the Director’s long strides, skidding to a halt in front of Taako’s cell as she turned to face the wizard.

“So, you’re teaching magic now?” she asked.

Taako had been sitting at the table in his cell, scrawling something in a notebook; but when he heard the Director’s voice, his ears perked up and he lifted his head from the hunched cage of his shoulders to meet her gaze.

“What?” Taako furrowed his brow, slamming the cover of his notebook shut. With a glance at Angus, Taako stood up from his seat and quickly covered any shock he may have felt with a thick layer of bravado. Walking up to the barrier, Taako leaned one hand against the wall and smirked up at the Director. “Is there something troubling you, Lucretia?”

“Angus tells me that you want him to learn magic from you,” she replied with a gesture to Angus. “What are you playing at, Taako? Don’t make me guess, just tell me.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Taako waved his arms in a big arching “X” at Lucretia. “Hold it right there, cuz you’re about to bust a kneecap jumping to conclusions like that. As I recall it, I asked Angus if he knew any magic or not. Innocent question. Just- Just making small talk, as you do. When he said he didn’t, ‘twas he who asked if I would teach him. Isn’t that right, Ango?”

The Director looked down at Angus, waiting for his response.

“Yes, that is correct, sir,” Angus nodded, turning to the Director. “I asked him, it was my idea to have him teach me.”

“Right, and then I said to ask you for permission,” Taako said, resuming his casual lean against the wall. “Honestly, I’m just as fine not walking him through his magical ABCs. Doesn’t matter to me, you do what you think is best. That always seems to work out _so well_ for you, after all.”

“Well, I’m glad it doesn’t matter to you, because I do not give my permission,” Lucretia replied, a slight chill to her voice. She turned to Angus and gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Angus, but I can’t allow prisoners access to any sort of magic that could help them escape. We’ll find you someone else here on-base who can teach you. Is that alright?”

“Oh, that would be fine,” Angus said, looking at Taako out of the corner of his eye. The wizard had made his way back to the table and was slumped over his notebook once more, hair falling like a curtain so no one could see his face. Looking back up to the Director, he tried to give a convincing smile. “I’m just excited to learn, ma’am, and I know you’ll pick a good instructor. I’m sorry for not considering that Taako might not be able to teach me.”

“That’s quite alright, Angus,” the Director smiled, a concerned look flashing across her face as she glanced at Taako. “I can understand why you would want Taako to teach you, he’s...a very talented wizard. Under different circumstances, I would have wholeheartedly agreed to him being your instructor. But I’m afraid it simply cannot be done right now.”

Lucretia took a step towards the elevator, moving past Angus and gazing down at him over her shoulder. “I’ll leave you two to your visit,” she said.

With that, the Director made her goodbyes and walked to the elevator at the end of the hall. As the elevator doors slid shut, Angus let go of a deep breath. Turning his full attention to Taako, Angus sat down on the floor and gave a disappointed sigh.

“Well, I tried, sir,” he said, fiddling with the knot in his one shoelace. “I know someone else teaching me won’t be as good as you getting to do it, but it’s better than nothing, right?”

“Hm, yeah…” Taako muttered, scratching something out in his notes. His hair still obscured his face, but Angus could tell something was bothering him.

“What are you writing down, sir?” Angus asked, trying to get Taako to engage with him.

Taako hesitated, before setting his pen down and holding the notebook up for Angus to glimpse at. “Your story, brocephus,” he said, setting the notebook back down and flipping the cover shut. “You didn’t think I was just making this stuff up on the fly, did you?”

“Actually, sir, I did think that,” Angus said.

“Shows what you know,” Taako said, cracking a smile at last as he leaned back in his seat.

Angus puzzled over the page he’d just looked at for a moment. When he’d tried to read some of what was written there, it was like his eyes were intentionally avoiding parts of it. Like he couldn’t understand what the wizard’s loping scrawl said. Every time Angus tried to think about why that was too hard he was met with a fuzzy feeling in his head, almost like…

_Static._

The thought hit Angus like a bolt of lightning; and he gasped as he looked up at Taako, who was in turn looking at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears.

“You okay, pumpkin?” Taako asked, looking honest-to-the-gods concerned as he leaned over in his chair to be at eye-level with Angus.

“Yeah, I’m…” Angus trailed off, reaching for his own notebook and writing something down before he forgot about it. “I’m fine, sir. Just had a sudden thought.”

“Alright, keep your little secrets,” Taako said, resting his chin in one hand. “So, I heard it through the grapevine that you guys are gonna be going after another relic pretty soon, huh?”

“Oh, yeah, we are,” Angus said. “I apologize in advance, sir, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to come and see you while the mission is ongoing. I’ll certainly try, but it can get pretty hectic around here when another relic has been located.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s cool,” Taako said, tapping his fingers against his knee. Angus watched as Taako got a faraway look in his eye, the elf’s usual nonchalant demeanor cracking a bit.

“Sir, is everything okay?”

“Huh?” Taako straightened up in his seat, before slouching over again with a sigh. “Yeah, everything’s fine, Angus. No worries.” Tousling his long hair with one hand, Taako glanced at the notebook on his table before speaking again. “You pretty excited about learning to do magic, then?”

“Yes, sir!” Angus brightened at the change in topic. “I’ve always wanted to learn magic. I wish the Director would have let you teach me, but still I think it’s going to be great.”

“Yeah, great,” Taako mused, pressing a hand to his cheek and looking anywhere but directly at Angus.

“Taako, sir, what’s bothering you?” Angus asked, his brow wrinkling in concern.

“Bothering? Me?” Taako slapped that same hand to his chest, looking completely surprised at the notion of being bothered by anything. “Nothing’s bothering me, Angus.”

Angus lifted a skeptical eyebrow at the wizard, and Taako’s act broke down a little.

“You know, I just, uh...I just wanted to tell you…” Taako scratched the back of his neck, giving a groan as he struggled to force the words out of his mouth. “I just wanted to say to be careful with your spellcasting, okay?”

“Oh!” Angus hadn’t been expecting that. “I-I will be, sir. I promise.”

“Don’t get too hung up on looking cool, you know?” Taako kept talking. “Like, showmanship is important and all that, don’t get me wrong; but sometimes ya gotta do things the boring way to achieve the results you want.”

“How do you know?” Angus asked. “Did something happen?”

“You, uh...You remember how Death thought he recognized the Gap-Tooth Bandit?” Taako asked.

“Yeah,” Angus nodded. “But he couldn’t figure out who he was because of the mask.”

“Right,” Taako said, steepling his fingers under his chin. “Well, what you don’t know is that the Gap-Tooth Bandit had, at one time, a traveling cooking show, and-”

“Where was the Red Bandit? Was she with him?” Angus asked.

“Uh, no, she wasn’t there for this one.”

“But you said-”

“Look, just listen, alright?” Taako gave an exasperated laugh, but there was no humor in it. Most people wouldn’t have been able to pick up on the slightly nervous edge to Taako’s voice; but as the World’s Greatest Detective, Angus was an expert at recognizing emotional tells in people he spoke with.

Getting the sense that whatever Taako was about to say was important to him, Angus gave a nod and said, “Okay, I’m listening.”

* * *

The captain had taken up the responsibility of navigating the black caravan. Despite Death’s protests that it could only be steered by him, the captain had astonished them all by mastering the trick of it while the afternoon sun was still high in the sky. Sildar called out directions off of the map printed on Bo’s bare skin from where the two of them sat near the front of the caravan. The Chronicler documented their journey quietly in the corner. Leeman was napping on the floor.

Death and the Gap-Tooth Bandit sat directly across from each other in the back of the caravan, their knees knocking together as the cab jostled on the sandy terrain. The Gap-Tooth Bandit had Death’s scythe settled tightly in the crook of his elbow, leaning his head against the body of the weapon as he and the phantasm before him locked eyes.

“Why do you keep your face hidden?” Death asked, reaching out as if he wanted to remove the thick black material that shrouded around the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s eyes.

Gap-Tooth met Death’s hand with his own, tucking the other’s fingers into his surprisingly gentle grip and pushing them away from the mask on his face.

“It’s because I’m in hiding,” Gap-Tooth replied with a smile, running his thumb along the back of Death’s hand before letting go.

“If you’re in hiding, why take a risk like this? The Imperial City is no place to maintain a secret identity,” Death shook his head, confused by the man before him.

“I owe it to my sister,” Gap-Tooth said. “She hasn’t transgressed as I have, and deserves someone taking a risk to save her.”

“But you don’t even know if she’s alive,” Death said.

“I don’t know if she’s dead, either,” Gap-Tooth replied. “I bet you do, though.”

Death held up a finger to halt the bandit’s line of thought. “I know what you want me to tell you,” he said. “But I cannot divulge whether or not your sister is alive.”

Gap-Tooth thought that over for a second, before smiling and leaning closer to Death. “What if we made a deal?”

Death’s eyes flashed with interest. “What kind of a deal?”

“You tell me if my sister is alive or dead, and I take off my mask.”

“What good does it do me to see your face?”

“First of all, rude. You don’t know how many people would kill to get a look at this mug. Second of all, what good does it do you to keep whether or not my sister is alive from me?” Gap-Tooth challenged. “We’re dealing in useless information that we both want to know from each other, why not just make the trade?”

“Oh, very well,” Death sighed. “I’ll need to know your sister’s name, though.”

“What?”

“Can’t really check on her living or dead status if I don’t know who she is,” Death shrugged.

“How do I know you won’t report this to Governor Ravenous?” Gap-Tooth narrowed his eyes, fingers pressing into his lips.

“I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

“Trust is for chumps,” the Gap-Tooth Bandit rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and slouching back in his seat.

“Would you forsake your sister, then?” Death asked, gaze impossible to ignore.

The Gap-Tooth Bandit curled his lip. It was a blatant manipulation, but he was unsure as to why Death would even bother. Nevertheless, Death had unwittingly hit on the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s greatest weakness: He never wanted anyone to think he’d do anything less than die for his sister.

“Alright, but I hope you appreciate the fact that I don’t put my trust in just anyone,” Gap-Tooth said, beckoning Death to lean in closer.

Gap-Tooth pressed his cheek to Death and, one hand tucking behind Death’s head and carding through his hair, whispered the Red Bandit’s name in his ear. As Gap-Tooth pulled away, Death closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

“She’s not dead,” Death said, red eyes snapping open. “But there’s something more to it...something less cut and dry than just the normal bonds of mortality.”

“What does that mean?” Gap-Tooth furrowed his brow, grip tightening on the hilt of the scythe.

“While your sister may not be dead, I sense she is not completely within the realm of the living either,” Death said. “Whether or not she will return to you alive remains a mystery to even me.”

“Okay, not exactly the answer I was hoping for, but a deal’s a deal,” Gap-Tooth said, reaching behind his head and untying the strings of his mask. Slowly, he pulled the disguise from his face and let Death gaze upon his features in full view.

Death gave a soft gasp. “I recognize you, now,” he said. “You were the host of that traveling cooking show, weren’t you?”

“I was,” Gap-Tooth nodded, standing up and posing with the scythe in his hand. “And do you know why you recognize me from that show?”

Death nodded. “Of course _I_ do,” he said. “It’s the one thing I always know. All of those people…”

“Dead,” the Gap-Tooth Bandit said. “Dead because of me. Dead because of my carelessness.”

The bandit and Death were of course referring to the tragedy that befell the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s final performance as a traveling cooking star. His show had grown so much in popularity and prestige, that Gap-Tooth had become addicted to the spectacle. He loved the act of performing so much that he had allowed himself to get distracted from the actual cooking he was doing. In a bombastic flash of tricks and transmutations, the Gap-Tooth Bandit overlooked the fact that he had transformed one of his ingredients into a deadly poison. Everyone in the audience who ate the dish had died in writhing agony. And from that day forward, the Gap-Tooth Bandit wore a mask wherever he went to hide from the shadow of Death which always loomed over his head like a branding of his guilt and shame.

“Now, you see it, don’t you?” Gap-Tooth said, whirling around in a grand flourish to face Death. “I am not a man who can be loved.”

Death stood at last, towering over the Gap-Tooth Bandit with an odd look on his face. “You say you don’t trust, but you have shown a great deal of it in revealing this to me.”

“I…” the Gap-Tooth Bandit faltered, gazing up into Death’s red eyes and feeling smaller than he had since he was a young child. “I only did it for the attention. Besides, I am a coward.”

“Maybe…” Death said, reaching up and placing his clammy hands on either side of the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s face. “But only when you’re wearing the mask.”

“That’s why I always wear it,” Gap-Tooth whispered, but he found himself doubting his own words.

Death pulled his face closer to the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s, the two of them silent as the space between them became charged with an emotion neither of them had felt in a long time. Just as their lips were about to press together, the caravan came lurching to a halt and sent them both toppling to the floor.

“We’re here,” the captain called from the front of the caravan. “We’ve made it to the Imperial City.”

* * *

“You always stop at the same part, when everything’s getting interesting!” Angus groaned as Taako’s narration coasted to a stop.

“Do I?” Taako raised his eyebrows. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell me what happens next?” Angus asked.

“Uhhhh no,” Taako said. “That’s all I’ve got for you today, I’m afraid.”

“Alright, alright,” Angus sighed, but looked up at Taako and smiled nonetheless. “Death loves the Gap-Tooth Bandit, doesn’t he?”

“What!?” Taako blew a raspberry and rolled his eyes. “I won’t have you unwinding this rich tapestry of drama I’ve woven by getting hung up on some silly sentimental rubbish like a romantic subplot.”

“Okay,” Angus laughed, standing up from the floor. “But they totally fall in love, don’t they?”

“I guess you’re just gonna have to wait and see,” Taako shrugged. “But for real, you were picking up what I was putting down, right? About being careful when you’re casting spells?”

“I most certainly picked up what you put down, sir,” Angus nodded.

“Good,” Taako said, crossing his arms. “Because it’s important and all that junk.”

“Thank-you, sir,” Angus smiled. “I guess I’ll see you soon, then.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Taako said. “Now, go on and shoo before the Director comes back down to interrogate us some more.”

Angus laughed, turning and walking towards the elevator. But as he made it halfway, he stopped as he remembered something. Digging through his notebook, Angus found the page of guesses about who was who in the story that he’d written that morning. Ripping the page out, Angus scurried back over to Taako’s cell.

“Sir, before I forget,” Angus said, holding the paper out so the edge stuck through the barrier. “I made this for you.”

Taako looked up from his own notebook and squinted at the paper Angus was holding out to him. “You made this for me?” he laughed, taking the paper into his own hands. “Gee, Ango, you shouldn’t have…”

Taako trailed off as his eyes scanned the list of names in front of him, his usual smirk wiping off his face the longer he read. After checking the paper over a few times, Taako looked back up at Angus and smiled.

“If this were a school and I were a teacher, I’d give you an A+, you little nerd,” Taako said, looking impressed despite himself. “Get out of here.”  

Angus didn’t say another word, simply smiled and turned back to the elevator.

Riding up to the top floor, Angus felt confident as he headed out of the prison dome and made towards his dorm. For a while Angus had feared that all of his questions were destined to remain a jumbled conundrum; but now he felt as if he were finally starting to break through the mystery at hand. He didn’t have all of the answers, but he now knew he had at least some of the correct ones. That alone was enough to make himself sure he would figure out all of the rest of them, too. And it was with that thought that he made his way cheerfully to his dorm, ready to prepare for the Bureau’s next mission to recover another Grand Relic.

As he stepped into his dim room, however, Angus caught a faint glimmer out of the corner of his eye. Turning to the bookshelf settled on the wall near his bed, Angus reached out and took his Book of Interception in hand. It was giving off the faint magical gleam it always did when it recorded a new message; not quite a glow, but more of the sheen a splotch of oil on asphalt gives off. Angus wrinkled his nose a bit in confusion, but flipped the book open nonetheless and read the most recently recorded message:

_Tell the Director to meet She-Knows-Who, She-Knows-Where STOP_

The Book of Interception was supposed to pick up magical messages intended for other parties but the past couple of times the book had recorded something, Angus felt as if the enclosed message had been written specifically for him. Whoever had written this message wanted Angus to intercept it. Of course, Angus had no idea who the message was from, but knew it was pointing to something important.

Once again, he was faced with the gnawing feeling that he was looking at the right details but drawing the wrong conclusions. But for the time being, he couldn’t worry about that. All he could do at the current moment was to wait and watch for the clues these mysterious events would lead to. He was getting closer to the truth, he just had to wait a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taako calling Angus "pumpkin" gives me strength in these times that try the soul.


	6. Memory Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus snoops around. Taako remembers. Lucretia meets an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy slightly belated TAZ anniversary! I can't believe it's been a year since the finale and I'm still Fucked Up. 
> 
> Enjoy the new chapter!

Okay, maybe Angus McDonald was a little bit of a snoop. He was a detective, but first and foremost he was a curious little boy who wanted to know what was going on. And when adults in his life tried to “protect” him from the truth, sometimes he had no other choice but to go behind their backs and uncover it for himself.

He had shown the Director the message in his Book of Interception, because what other option was there? Angus couldn’t decipher who had sent it (even though he’d tried!) and had no clue where in Faerun this anonymous sender wanted to meet the Director.

When he’d given the message to the Director, she’d told him not to worry about it. She’d dodged his questions and brushed off his efforts to try and solve the mystery of who’d sent the message, ushering Angus to one of the training domes to begin his magic lessons with another member of the Bureau.

But Angus wasn’t stupid, he knew that when adults wanted him to stop asking questions they gave him distractions to keep him occupied. He’d played along and left the Director without another word on the message, even though he could tell she was more ruffled than she let on. That was indication enough for Angus that the Director knew exactly who was reaching out to her, and that most likely also meant she knew exactly where to go to meet this mystery person.

Angus loved the Director, and he didn’t want to say that he didn’t trust her but he was starting to realize that she was hiding a lot more from him than he’d initially thought. He wanted to believe that she was doing everything out of a place of wanting to protect, but between the mysterious circumstances surrounding Taako’s imprisonment and now with this anonymous message and just everything going on concerning the relics...Angus was beginning to have his doubts.

Lucky for him, the entire Bureau was atwitter over the Reclaimers’ upcoming mission to obtain the next relic and were all too busy to notice his sleuthing. The buzz around the moonbase also worked to his advantage in that everyone was constantly aware of the Director’s whereabouts, making keeping tabs on her throughout the coming days that much easier.

A couple of days had gone by and nothing had happened as a result of the message Angus had delivered, and he was beginning to think that maybe he’d lost focus during some crucial moment and the Director had already taken care of the matter. But then, on the night before Magnus and Merle were set to leave for their next mission, the Director had ordered the entire staff of the Bureau of Balance to take the rest of the evening off and rest up.

If it seemed odd to the other Bureau members for the Director to give them the night off when they were preparing to reclaim another relic the following morning, no one said anything. Everyone was exhausted by the preparations, especially Magnus and Merle, so it wasn’t like anyone really wanted to argue against a few more hours of sleep.

By midnight, the campus was deserted; everyone was either tucked into bed or had retired to their dorms for the night. Everyone, that was, except for Angus. As soon as the Director had made her announcement for the Bureau members to take the night off, Angus knew it was time. The crucial moment to find out some solid, concrete answers had come; and he wasn’t going to miss it.

Making a beeline for the transportation dome, Angus needled through the empty hangar and hid behind a disused cannon. There, he waited for what felt like hours; which turned out to be an accurate feeling, because he did wait there for hours.

Right when Angus was preparing to throw in the towel and admit defeat, the Director appeared in the hangar as well, just as he’d suspected she would. She was dressed down - well, more dressed down that Angus had ever seen her - wearing slacks and a simple blue tunic. She still had her staff in hand but she seemed far less regal and more on level with how Angus was feeling as he watched her from his hiding place: anxious, confused, and stressed out.

Angus watched as the Director set the coordinates on a cannon’s controlpad, did some fiddling with the lever, and then climbed into the pod. Like clockwork, as soon as the Director was sealed inside of her orb, the cannon’s lever pulled back and she was shot out of one of the exit ports. Her orb was visible for a brief moment, winking in the night sky, before descending out of view to the world below.

Jumping out of his hiding space, Angus ran towards the canon that had just been used. Jotting down the Director’s coordinates in his notebook, Angus bolted to the next cannon over. Angus was thanking whichever gods were listening for the Bureau members who had prepped the cannons for the following day’s travels before leaving that night. Angus was a very resourceful little boy, but even he couldn’t figure how he would have managed to reload a cannon by himself.

Punching the coordinates into the cannon’s controlpad, Angus climbed into his cannon and began to lower himself inside the transportation orb. As his feet touched down on the small pod’s metal floor, Angus realized there was a crucial problem he hadn’t resolved yet. Angus backtracked a little, poking his head out of the top of the cannon to squint at the unmoved lever that he needed to pull in order launch himself into space. He couldn’t figure how the Director had finagled the lever on her cannon to time its release, and there was only one other option Angus could think of on the spot.

Angus took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second as he pushed his glasses up further on the bridge of his nose. This was a stupid plan. A stupid, risky plan. All around, this plan had no guarantees other than Angus getting into a buttload of trouble if he got caught. But dammit if he wasn’t going to try and carry it out anyways.

Rolling up his sleeves, Angus extended his palm and focused all of his energy into conjuring his very best Mage Hand. Angus was still a beginner and had only just completed his first magic lesson earlier that day; as a result, the hand he produced looked a bit like a glitch in a video game with about as much reliability in terms of how well it would function. Biting his lip, Angus locked his eyes on the lever and willed the spectral hand over to pull the bar back.

As soon as Angus saw that the hand was wobbling its way through the air over to the cannon’s lever he scrambled to get sealed inside his pod, knowing he wouldn’t have much time if his shoddy beginner's Mage Hand actually worked. Angus pulled the orb’s hatch shut and bolted it into place, scrambling to the pilot’s seat as soon as it was done and sitting down.

Angus was pulling his seatbelt across his chest when he began to wonder after whether the spectral hand had done its job or not. Right as he was preparing to move from his seat to go out and check, though, he received an answer to his question. WIth a mechanical whir and a chunky _click_ , Angus felt his transport sphere shoot out of the cannon and bolt into the night.

The force of the take-off knocked Angus flat against the wall, and he struggled to snap his seatbelt into place so he wouldn’t get sent spinning. Once he was secure in his chair, Angus reaching out to take the steering controls and finally looked out to get his bearings.

Below, Angus could spy the Director’s sphere almost directly underneath him at about a mile length distance from his craft. Holding his breath, Angus veered his pod a couple hundred feet to the left and hoped that was enough distance that the Director wouldn’t catch him tagging along on her clandestine rendezvous with an unknown party while still being close enough that Angus would actually be able to catch up with her and tag along at all.

Once Angus felt more or less secure in the proximity of his landing space to the Director’s, he looked out again to see where it was they were even headed towards. At first, the land below seemed nondescript and barren to Angus; he couldn’t make out any landmarks or towns from the distance he was at. But as his ship fell closer to the sprawling lands of Faerun, it suddenly clicked where the Director was leading him to. While the land below was most assuredly barren, there was nothing nondescript about it. There below, growing closer with every passing second, was a perfect circle of black glass.

After a few more minutes of descent, a small blue button lit up on the steering controls that Angus hoped was the landing break. It would seem his hopes were well-founded, because when he pressed the button, the pod went into autopilot and landed itself in the overgrown brush below. Opening the hatch, Angus climbed out of the pod and let go of a relieved sigh as he set his feet on solid ground.

Not wasting another moment, Angus took off in the direction of where the Director’s orb had landed. He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him, and was panting for breath by the time the other transportation sphere pulled into view on the horizon. He could see the edges of Phandalin’s remain, and it only took him a second to spy the Director’s familiar form as she strode across the glassed town.

Ducking into a cluster of bushes that had somehow managed to avoid getting scorched by the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet, Angus moved as close as he dared in order to find out who the Director was meeting that night. Pushing a branch of leaves out of his face, Angus looked for a second figure.

Angus saw no one other than the Director at first; but as the Director stepped further into the circle of black glass, another figure emerged from the center of Phandalin’s ruins. Angus took one look at the other figure and slapped a hand over his mouth to keep from gasping out loud. The Director’s mystery guest was a spectral being, looking halfway caught between life and death. Looking at this phantasm, Angus felt his blood run cold. Not because he was afraid, but because the figure awaiting the Director’s arrival was clad in a scarlet cloak, just like the Red Bandit from Taako’s story.

* * *

Back in Goldcliff, when the Reclaimers were still a trio instead of a duo, a red-robed figure had appeared to them after saving their lives from the enthralled Captain Captain Bane. The specter had spoken to them, weaving a cryptic string of words detailing an all consuming hunger and the approaching end of all that they knew. It hadn’t made sense to the three of them at the time, it still didn’t to two of them. But very soon after this encounter in the Goldcliff militia’s headquarters, one of the three Reclaimers came to understand what the red-robed figure was saying. This is how it happened.

Taako had been listening to the Red Robe’s words, attentive out of the fact that he was too unnerved to be anything else. As the figure spoke though, something else had caught Taako’s eye. There, hovering in the Red Robe’s palm, was a gold coin glittering just within the edges of Taako’s periphery. Later on, Taako would laugh at himself for having thought that the red-robed figure must have put the coin out just so Taako would see it and be unable to resist stealing it; because, as it turned out, that’s exactly what had been intended to happen.

After the Red Robe vanished, the three men had brushed off the austere conversation the way they typically did: by making goofs and ignoring the gravity of what had just occurred. Taako had tucked the coin away in his pocket, ready to forget the entire ordeal of Goldcliff so he could head back to the fake moon and get paid.  

But as they made their way back to the Bureau of Balance, Taako found himself feeling increasingly unwell. Not that he admitted to it; Taako only ever confessed to not feeling one-hundred percent when he knew it was something curable that was causing it. If he couldn’t enjoy the waves of concern from others because he was too busy worrying about dying, then, what was even the point in telling anyone else?

Nevertheless, he had known something wasn’t right. It was as if someone was pressing his head together with their hands or had filled it with fog. Still, he hadn’t reached out for help because...well, that just wasn’t how he rolled. Instead, he’d dipped out of going to meet with the Director post-Reclamation and headed back to his dorm to try and sleep off whatever the fuck was going on with him.

Falling asleep hadn’t been easy. Mostly because Taako wasn’t feeling well to begin with, but also because his asshole roommate Pringles couldn’t take the hint that he wanted to be left the fuck alone. When he finally managed to hit a lull and felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, the edges of his vision tinged red and he’d felt his mind go slack.

It hadn’t been like falling asleep, because Taako had still been able to catch glimpses of lucidity where he was aware of himself but there was nothing he could do to control his motions, and that was scary as fuck to be cognizant of. He could tell he was creeping around the Bureau’s campus and that it was late, and he could feel himself burning spell slots right and left. Strongest of all though was that he could tell he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to, which was hardly a new sensation for him; but it was an entirely different experience to not have made that choice to break the rules for himself.

When the trance had finally broken, the first thing Taako was aware of was the pounding in his head. It was like someone was trapped in his brain and was trying to escape by beating through his skull with a hammer. He could hear two voices shouting at each other nearby and alarm bells blaring overhead, but he couldn’t be bothered to make out what any of it meant right then. There was a fishy taste in his mouth that he recognized and when he finally looked up and took in his surroundings from where he had fallen to the ground, the first thing he saw was a tank of water with a small voidfish floating inside.

_But...Fisher’s not that small._

And as that name had flashed through his mind, Taako gasped as a wave of memories flooded over him. The Legato Conservatory, an entire cave of voidfish, Magnus rushing to save Fisher from The Hunger, and... _The Hunger._

Taako gasped again, trying to stagger to his feet and collapsing under the weight of his recollections. The two voices had ceased shouting and Taako finally noticed who they belonged to as both figures came rushing towards him. He recognized the red-robed figure from earlier, but there was something more...Taako _knew_ this person.

The other figure was the Director, but- No, that wasn’t right. Taako knew who she was too, and not just as an employer. Realizing that, Taako felt his head pang so violently he closed his eyes, involuntarily letting a few tears slip down his cheeks. Everything was coming back in tidal waves, and Taako was doing his best not to drown.

“Taako,” the Director’s voice was been frantic as she grabbed either side of the wizard’s face. “This is important, please, tell me the truth. Do you know who you are?”

“I’m...Taako…” He had reopened his eyes at last and looked up at the Red Robe again, something in the color of his robe sparking his memory as he finished his sentence. “...you know, from the IPRE?”   

The Director- No. Lucretia’s hands flew up to cover her mouth, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. Taako looked from her and back to Barry. _Barry._ That’s who he was.

“Barry,” Taako had croaked out, full-on trembling by that point. “Did you fucking possess me?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, bud,” Barry’s lich form spoke, and...There was something else Taako needed to remember about liches, but he couldn’t put his finger on it yet. “It was the best way I could think of to get around the moon base indiscreetly, and I- Fuck, I’m so sorry, Taako.”

“Sorry for what? What’s-” Taako took a deep breath, trying to regain some of his composure. “Would one of you two tell me what the fuck is going on? Lucy, why have you been lying to us about who you are? Why- Why couldn’t I remember you?”

“Oh, Taako, I-” Lucretia finally spoke, her voice choked up with mixed emotions. “I made you forget. The whole crew, I-” and she paused, knowing there was no going back after she said what she had to say next. “I fed a record of our mission to the voidfish.”

Taako listened in a dumbstruck haze as Lucretia hurriedly explained her reasoning and the existence of the second voidfish and the founding of the Bureau of Balance. Taako could hear the heavy footsteps of approaching guards responding to the alarm bells still ringing out, and it was all so fucked up. Taako didn’t even have time to process everything that had just been unloaded on him because there were guards coming and Barry wasn’t safe there, he wasn’t safe there, the rest of his family still had no clue any of this was going on and it was fucked up.

Taako had moved into a seated position, curled on the floor with his face in his hands and Lucretia’s hand on his back. He suddenly looked up when he heard the guards’ footsteps grow even louder, and he shouted up at Barry, “You need to go.”

Barry had floated backwards a bit, a touch stunned at the command. “But-”

“No,” Taako shook his head. “No buts. You gotta fucking get out of here, right now.”

“Barry…” Lucretia had said in a warning tone. “I swear, if you do this again-”

“You shut up!” Taako screamed at her, slapping her hand away when she tried to reach out and touch him. His own hand landed hard on the ground, hitting against the hilt of his umbrastaff. “You’re not in a position to be criticizing other people’s actions right now, _Madam Director._ Bluejeans, get lost or I’m gonna kick the shit out of you!”

“I’m-” Barry had faltered, but ultimately gave a nod of assent. “It’s going to be okay, Taako. I’m- I’m sorry,” were his last words before he had fazed out of the room, gold coin twirling in his hand.

Taako’s breathing had grown ragged and his chest ached with the effort it took to muster up each lungful of air. Lucretia was saying something, and she sounded so upset but Taako wasn’t listening. His eyes were on the umbrastaff in his grip. His sister’s umbrastaff. Lup, the single most important person in his life, and he had been forced to forget her for nearly a decade.

“You made me forget Lup,” Taako said in a defeated voice, his grip on the umbrastaff tightening as his eyes found Lucretia.

“I’m sorry, Taako,” Lucretia said. “Please, just trust me-”

“Trust you!?” Taako had laughed at the words, but nothing about the situation right then was funny and he didn’t want to admit it but he was actually getting dangerously close to hysterical sobbing. “Why in the fucking world should I trust you? You don’t get to fucking take my sister away from me like that and then ask me to trust you.” He had staggered to his feet by then, and raised the umbrastaff so it was pointed at Lucretia. “What you can do is give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blast you into the Astral Plane right now.”

Lucretia held her hands out to her sides, at a loss for anything else to say except: “Because I love you, Taako.”

“Not good enough!” Taako shouted, opening his mouth to cast a spell. Before the magic words could get past his lips, a set of particularly purposeful footsteps pounded through the open doorway and Killian came rushing in, tackling Taako to the ground and knocking the umbrastaff from his grip without a moment’s hesitation.

“You okay, boss?” Killian asked Lucretia as she wrestled Taako into submission. The rest of the guards hurried into the room, poised and awaiting their orders from the Director.

“I’m fine, I-” Lucretia had stammered, her usual Director persona completely shattered. “It-It seems we’ve had a break in from one of our Reclaimers.”

“You fucking traitor!” Taako shouted from where Killian was picking him up off the ground.

“Quiet,” Killian snapped, looking equal parts angry and confused. “Fuck, Taako, I knew you were a shifty guy but this is a whole other level.” Killian then turned to Lucretia. “What do you want us to do with him, boss?’

“Yeah, what are you gonna do with me, Director!?” Taako challenged, boiling over with rage at his inability to do anything else except offer snappy remarks.

Lucretia gripped the edge of the desk behind her, thinking for a moment. When she finally spoke, her voice was distant and emotionless and she wouldn’t lift her gaze to look at anyone. “Take him to the brig,” she ordered. “He’s under arrest until further notice.”

The guards all nodded obediently, clearing a path for Killian as she carried Taako out of the room right as he went into a full on spitting rage. His string of profanities grew fainter and fainter as he was taken further away from the Director’s private sanctum, until she couldn’t hear him at all anymore. Once again, her plan had left her alone and feeling nothing but guilt. The only thing she could think to do right then was to hope all of her sacrifices would be worth it in the end. WIth that in mind, Lucretia had picked up the umbrastaff from where it had fallen from Taako’s grip and left the vault, locking away the memories as she closed the heavy metal door behind her.

* * *

Lucretia’s staff tapped a hollow rhythm against the desolate terrain under her feet. Phandalin, once a bustling town, had been reduced to nothing but a circle of black glass. As horrifying as that reality was, Lucretia found it even more horrifying that she was accustomed to these devastations by now. The fact that this level of destruction was a normal part of her life made her blood curdle.

As she walked further into what was left of Phandalin, Lucretia found herself continually checking over her shoulder. There was this persistent nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was being followed, but she chalked it up to her usual paranoia kicking it into hyperdrive. She already had a protective shield up around her, translucent and barely visible, but present nonetheless. Not that she was in fear of any danger from the person she was meeting, but she knew firsthand the lengths a desperate person would go to in order to protect their family. And that’s who was waiting for her at the center of Phandalin’s ruins: her family.

The red-robed spectral figure in front of her would have been frightening to behold for almost anyone else, but Lucretia knew the truth of who she was seeing right then. She knew he was afraid of the dark and allergic to milk. She knew his mother had died when he was young. She knew he hadn’t learned to swim until he was well beyond a fully grown man. She knew so much about him, because he meant _so much_ to her.

Lucretia steeled herself as she approached, unsure of what the mood for that evening was going to be. But she tried for a smile nonetheless, giving an awkward wave as she came closer to the only other figure in sight.

“When you said I’d know where to meet you, I assumed it would have been something a bit more obvious,” Lucretia said, coming to a standstill in front of her friend. “It took me a while to figure out where you meant.”

“Well, I would’ve just dropped by your office but that darn pesky anti-lich ward you’ve got going on really didn’t allow for it,” Barry spoke at last, a slightly scornful tone to his voice. “Besides, you figured it out. This is where we looked for her when she went missing...” he paused, gazing down at the image of himself reflected in the glass. “...and it’s where you used to look for me, back when you didn’t know what had happened to me after, you know, everything.”

Lucretia sighed, the smile falling from her face. Her hands twisted nervously around her staff, guilt dropping like an oppressive weight across her shoulders. “Barry…”

“Nope,” Barry held out a hand and cut Lucretia off before she could even start. “I didn’t ask you here to listen to your apologies.”

“Then, why did you ask me here?” Lucretia looked up, trying to pull together the diplomatic aura she carried around her at the Bureau.

“For starters, I- I would like to know if Taako’s alright,” Barry said. “I didn’t really ever find out what happened after I left that night, and I-”

“Oh, you mean after you used Taako to break into my private office?”

“If putting it that way makes you feel better, then yeah,” Barry said.

“He’s fine,” Lucretia said, avoiding looking at Barry. “He, uh, he wanted me to thank you for your Candlenights gift. Barry, I know what that note meant to you. It couldn’t have been easy to part with it.”

“I’d rather he have it, I feel like he might need it more than me at this point,” Barry said. Making a flustered noise, he floated a little lower so Lucretia and he were at eye level. “Could you please tell me the truth? Where is Taako?”

“He’s safe, he’s…” Lucretia trailed off, wincing at what she had to say next. She knew it wasn’t right to let Barry keep worrying about Taako, but gods there really was no good way to say where he was. “He’s being kept in the Bureau’s jail until further notice.”

Barry’s voice shrank away from the reality that Lucretia’s statement brought with it. “He’s what?”

“Barry, please, it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Lucretia held out a hand, palm down, in what she hoped was a comforting motion.

“No? Because it sounds pretty bad to me,” Barry said, sounding like he couldn’t decide between yelling and laughing. “Fuck, Lucretia, can’t you see this has all gotten way out of hand?”

“I have things under control,” Lucretia insisted. “I’m so close to having all of the relics, and then-”

“And then _what_?” Barry cut her off. “Lup and I told you why you can’t cast the barrier. It’s not going to work, it’ll just make things worse.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Lucretia said, though her voice faltered a bit. “What else would you suggest I do?”

“Give everyone else their memories back?” Barry suggested. “We could figure out a better way together, if you would just-”

“No,” Lucretia said resolutely. “No, I can do this. Please, Barry, just trust me. I know it’s hard to see right now, but this plan will work.”

“Of course I trust you, Lucy,” Barry said. “I trust that you’re trying to do the right thing, but you just can’t keep taking everyone else’s option to try and help away from them in the process. You’ve gotta let Taako go, at least. Keeping him locked up is wrong and you know it.”

“No,” Lucretia shook her head. “I can’t risk the both of you trying to stop me.”

“You ever think that maybe you should be stopped? I mean, are you even listening to yourself?”

Lucretia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “When this is all over, I-I’ll give- I promise, I will give the others their memories back and then they can do whatever they want. Taako will be let out of jail and he can go wherever he wants to go, do whatever he wants to do. And if any of that aftermath involves you and the rest of our crew never wanting anything to do with me again, then I’m prepared to accept that.”

“Lucretia, it’s not going to do us any good to have our memories back after the fact,” Barry pleaded, his spectral hands stretching out towards his crewmate. “If you succeed in putting up your barrier, that’s it. There will be nothing we can do to reverse it if it severs this world’s bonds and throws it into turmoil. You’re risking so much for an uncertain outcome, please, trust _me_ when I’m telling you it won’t work.”

“I’m sorry, Barry,” Lucretia shook her head, pressing a hand over her eyes as tears began to shimmer on her cheeks. “But I can’t risk The Hunger consuming another world. Not after all we’ve sacrificed to stop it. We’ve struggled for so long, and we’re almost done, I swear. This is going to work.”

“You know that’s almost exactly what Lup said to you, when you didn’t want to go along with the relic plan,” Barry said. “Look how that one turned out for us.”

Lucretia inhaled sharply, her posture going rigid. “Goodbye, Barry,” she said, turning on her heel and stalking away. Barry didn’t call out to her or try to follow her, he knew it was pointless. And it was in that stony silence the two friends parted ways, each one longing for the other to see their side of things.

Black glass passed under Lucretia’s feet, displaying a murky reflection of the night sky to Lucretia as she walked with her eyes downcast. Amidst that darkness, she could see herself reflected as well and she was struck by a feeling that webbed around her brain like a net trying to lock itself securely around her. It was the feeling that she had already been consumed by The Hunger and no matter what she did, no matter the choices she made, no matter how much she sacrificed; she would never be able to defeat it, because it had already won.

But Lucretia shook herself out of that headspace and pushed forward. She wasn’t devoured yet. She had a plan, and it _would_ work. She would defeat The Hunger once and for all, and finally be able to protect everyone she loved. It wouldn’t be long, she just had to keep going.

* * *

Angus waited until he saw the Director’s orb float back up into the sky to emerge from his hiding spot and head back towards his own orb. Picking leaves and twigs out of his hair, Angus parsed over what he had just listened in on.

It had been hard to hear exactly what had been said, his hiding spot had been far away from the center of Phandalin and there was no way he could’ve gotten closer without getting caught. What he had heard had been almost indecipherable. Not that he didn’t know what the Director and the Red Robe were saying, but that he just couldn’t understand it at all. It was as if every time he heard either of them say anything, he couldn’t draw the necessary conclusions from it.

As Angus trudged his way back to his transportation sphere, he began to feel that the more he uncovered the less he knew. There were answers right within his grasp, but something kept tugging them away every time he thought he’d grabbed onto one.

Angus knew there had been an order of people called Red Robes who were responsible for creating the relics, but he’d been told they were disbanded long ago. Taako’s story featured the pursuit of a character in a scarlet cloak who went missing, and Angus had just seen a figure in a scarlet cloak who no one thought existed anymore. The Red Bandit was the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s twin sister, and the Gap-Tooth Bandit was Taako’s self-insert character. From the snippets of the Director’s conversation he had been able to understand, Angus could tell this red-robed figure was someone who cared about Taako; but he wasn’t sure if they were siblings. Every time Angus tried to draw the conclusion that Taako even had a twin, his mind would reject the idea like two magnets with identical poles being pressed together.

Heaving a disgruntled sigh, Angus walked a little faster towards his pod, which had appeared at last in the distance. All he wanted to do was to go back to his dorm on the moon base, try his best to hash out the details of what had just happened, and then go to sleep. Being the world’s greatest detective was an exhausting job, and Angus wished sometimes he could just quit and be a normal kid for once. But the thing about knowing that people he cared about were possibly in danger and that he could contribute in some small way to saving it, made it impossible for Angus to just sit by and do nothing.

Climbing back into the transportation sphere, Angus closed the hatch overhead and punched a couple of buttons on his silver bracer. After a moment, the sphere lurched to life and began to float upwards and away from what was once Phandalin.

And down below, amidst the black glass of a ruined city, a figure in a red robe watched the second sphere as it floated up and away towards a place he couldn’t go near and to a family who couldn’t remember him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know ur all crying about the fact there was no Story Time with Taako and Angus this chapter, but don't worry, we'll get back to that next chapter. This chapter marks the about halfway point for this fic, so shit's about to pop off in a big way in the coming chapters. I'm really excited for the rest of this fic, I hope you guys are too!


	7. Taking Refuge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merle brings back souvenirs. Taako struggles with writer's block. Angus finally gets some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of you readers who stick with this fic through all of my impromptu hiatuses are the real ones, I swear. 
> 
> But yeah! My new semester at school has started, and I've been pretty busy!! So, unfortunately, I'm afraid I have to deliver the sad news that updates for this fic will start to slow down again. Hopefully not seven-months-without-an-update slow down but..definitely not as often as the past few chapters have gotten published. Sorry :/
> 
> That being said, this update is pretty damn long - It's probably the longest chapter I've written for this fic so far - and I'm really happy with how it turned out! I hope you guys enjoy it, too. If you do, be sure to comment! It really does help me stay motivated to keep writing for this story.

For all the hype the Director gave to the Reclaimers’ latest mission, it really didn’t last that long. About forty-five minutes after leaving for the town of Refuge, the Reclaimers had returned with the Temporal Chalice in hand. Angus watched with a scrutinous wrinkle of his nose as the relic was sealed inside a metal orb and ushered off to be destroyed. He had a hunch about a potential deception at play, but wanted to be absolutely sure before making any accusations.

Breaking away from the small gaggle of Bureau employees gathered to congratulate Magnus and Merle on another successful mission, Angus began to move towards the window that overlooked the demolition chamber to further his investigation.

“Hey, kid!” Merle called out before Angus could make it two feet away from the celebration. Angus turned his head to see the dwarf waving his soulwood arm to beckon him over. “C’mere, I got something for ya.”

Not wanting to appear suspicious, Angus shuffled over to where Merle was standing. The two of them were just on the cusp of the gaggle of Bureau members still whooping and cheering as Magnus egged them on to louder and louder volumes.

“You have something for me, sir?” Angus asked, eyebrows inclining towards the small brown paper parcel in Merle’s grasp.

“Eh, that might have been a bit misleading…” Merle scrunched up his face in an attempt to appear remorseful for tricking Angus, and failing miserably. “Actually, it’s for Taako. Got him a souvenir from Refuge, it...it seemed up his alley. Plus, I mean, the little old lady I got it from wouldn’t let me leave without it. Mind you, she still made me pay. Gotta admire the business sense. Anyways, I was hoping you’d take it with you next time you go see Taako and give it to him. Let him know…” Merle hesitated, a grimace of reluctance passing over his face before he spoke again. “Let him know me and the big guy miss him. Could have really used his help this time around.”

Angus took the small package in his hands and gave Merle an understanding smile. “I will, sir.”

“Great!” Merle reached out and clapped Angus on the arm, turning away to regroup with the partying Bureau members. “Thanks a heap, Agnes.”

“My name’s Angus, sir,” he called out to Merle’s already retreating back.

“That’s what I said,” Merle insisted as he threw his arms wide and joined into the festivities with a jubilant yawp.

As Merle was embraced by his fellow partiers, Magnus looked up from the small crowd and found Angus where he stood on the fringes. Magnus stuck out one mighty arm and waved at Angus, politely nudging his way out of the crowd as he made his way over to the young boy.

“Hey, Ango,” Magnus said with an easy grin, throwing an arm around Angus’ shoulders.

“Hello, sir,” Angus greeted his friend. “Did you have fun on your mission?”

“Ah, I don’t know if _fun_ is the right term, but it was pretty eye-opening,” Magnus said, throwing a glance over his shoulder as if he were checking something. Angus followed his half-second gaze and saw Magnus had been looking at the Director’s turned back from where she stood at the observation window of the demolition chamber. When Magnus turned back to look at him, Angus pretended he hadn’t seen anything and looked up at Magnus with an unsuspecting expression.

“Hey, you wanna take a walk with me?” Magnus said after ensuring the Director wasn’t listening. “There’s something I wanted to ask you about.”

“Of course, sir,” Angus replied, letting Magnus lead him outside onto the Bureau’s campus.

Once the two of them were outside, Magnus’ demeanor changed. Angus could tell immediately that something had happened in Refuge that was bothering Magnus. As he strode across the campus, away from the fanfare inside the Director’s dome, Angus saw Magnus’ expression turn austere and worried. It wasn’t a look Angus was used to seeing on Magnus, who usually looked so carefree and open.

“Sir, is everything alright?” Angus asked as Magnus stopped in the shadowed nook behind one of the Bureau’s maintenance domes, kneeling down so he was eye-level with Angus. The area around them was deserted.

“To put it simply: I’m not sure. I kind of need to ask you something about Taako. And I don’t want to, like, put you in an awkward position here because you’re just a kid; but this isn’t something I don’t feel comfortable going to the Director with yet,” Magnus said. “So, if you’re not down with keeping secrets from her, I think you should know it’s alright to say no and walk away.”

Angus thought back to his recent escapades in the transportation dome, biting his tongue so he wouldn’t spill the proverbial beans. “I think I can keep a secret, sir,” he said.

“Okay,” Magnus seemed to lighten with relief at hearing Angus utter those words. “I just wanted to ask you if Taako has ever told you the reason why he got thrown in the brig? I know he was caught snooping through the Director’s private quarters, but has he ever said why?”

“Not in so many words,” Angus said, clips of Taako’s story flashing through his head. “He’s not technically allowed to talk about that with me, but...Well, you know Taako. He always finds a loophole.”

Magnus laughed. “Good to know prison life hasn’t changed him that much,” he said. “So, you don’t know why he got locked up?”

“I have been given strong hints,” Angus said. “But no, I don’t know the precise details yet. I feel like I’m getting close to figuring it out, though.”

“Has he-” Magnus paused, an uncertain curl setting into his lips. When he spoke again, his voice had lowered a few decibels. “Has he ever said anything about Red Robes? Like, do you think he knows something about them?”

Angus thought of the Red Bandit, a missing sister in a scarlet cloak never found. Angus thought back to a spectral, red-robed figure speaking to Lucretia as if the two of them were squabbling siblings in the midst of a family dispute. Angus thought of the way that spectral figure had spoken of Taako as if the two of them were as close as people could get.

“I think so,” Angus said after a long pause wherein Magnus waited with an anxious expression on his face. “But, sir, why do you ask?”

“Okay, here’s where the secret-keeping part comes in,” Magnus said. “You know how the Red Robes are like Public Enemy No. 1 around these parts?”

“Uh-huh,” Angus nodded, his fingers clenching around the package from Merle still nestled in his grip.

Magnus took a deep breath and, reaching into his bag, produced a tube that Angus recognized as the kind of storage scholars used to keep their scrolls in. “In Refuge, they had this statue in the middle of town, and one of the figures in it was a Red Robe with his hood pulled up to cover his face. After Merle and I got the Chalice, I bumped into the girl we’d helped save and...she gave me this,” Magnus explained, holding the tube out to Angus.

Taking the tube in one of his hands, Angus maneuvered his grip to pop the top off of the tube and take out what was stored inside. Holding the two sheets of paper that came out in front of his nose, Angus peered down at the blueprints. The first sheet depicted the designs for a statue featuring a man, a young girl, and a red-robed figure with his hood drawn. The second sheet was much the same, except for one crucial detail: The Red Robe’s hood was pulled back from his face. Angus’ eyes widened as he looked at the face sketched on the parchment quavering in his unsteady grip. The figure in the red robe had Magnus’ face.

“Magnus, I…” Angus began, but shook his head in confusion as he tried to draw the necessary conclusions from what these blueprints were showing him. Whenever Angus tried to think of the obvious answer, his head filled with static. Looking back up to Magnus, Angus was surprised to see relief spreading across the fighter’s face.

“Oh, thank Istus, it’s not just me,” Magnus exhaled, holding his hand out for the tube back. Angus tucked the papers back into the tube and handed it to Magnus.

“Sir, I appreciate you trusting me with this,” Angus said. “But why? That doesn’t seem like the type of thing you’d go showing to just anyone around here.”

Magnus thought about his answer for a moment before speaking. “Taako obviously trusts you enough to try and tell you the truth of what happened to him,” Magnus said, settling one huge hand on Angus’ tiny shoulder. “And I trust you enough to tell you the truth of what’s going on with me. Plus, you’re the resident detective on this moonbase. If anyone can figure out what’s going on here, it’s you.”

“Thank-you, sir,” Angus said. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Thanks, Ango,” Magnus smiled. “You’re a good kid.”

Hearing those words, Angus felt something flutter in his chest: a phantom reminder that he was just a kid. And suddenly the gravity of the situation at hand was breaking over him like a rogue wave. At that moment, Angus let the responsibility of being the World’s Greatest Detective fall away and he let himself feel like he was just a normal ten-year-old boy for once. Rushing over to Magnus, Angus threw his arms around the fighter’s neck and hugged him.

Magnus didn’t react at first, shocked by the affectionate act; but once he’d recovered from the initial surprise, Magnus hugged Angus back. Magnus squeezed Angus a little too tightly to breathe comfortably, but Angus didn’t care. It had been so long since Angus had been hugged by someone he trusted, and he just let himself melt into the safety of Magnus’ arms.

“It’s gonna be alright, buddy,” Magnus said, rubbing Angus on the back before pulling away at last. The two stood in silence for a moment, before Magnus reached out and ruffled Angus’ hair. “Don’t worry, Ango, we’ll get this mystery solved yet. Just like on the Rockport Limited.”

“I know we will, sir,” Angus smiled. “Preferably with less death this time, though.”

“Yeah. Yeah, less death, definitely,” Magnus nodded, standing up and stretching out his back. “Well, I’d better go find Merle and the Director, they’re probably waiting for me back in her office. But thanks again, Angus, I’ll keep you updated on any further developments.”

“Goodbye, sir,” Angus called, waving as Magnus strode away. Magnus turned back and smiled, giving a big, friendly wave to Angus before walking out of eyeshot.

The conversation with Magnus replayed itself through Angus’ head, and he was still met with static when he tried to draw a conclusion about the drawing of the Red Robe with Magnus’ face that he’d been shown. Thinking back on the details of the story Taako had been telling him, Angus was met with that same static any time he tried to make the characters in the story connect at all to the events happening around him. The same issue arose with the conversation he’d overheard between the Director and the Red Robe, there were patches of static intermingled throughout that entire dialogue.

It didn’t make sense for there to be voidfish static blocking his cognition when he was inoculated, Angus thought. But then, what if it wasn’t the voidfish he knew of that was blocking his thoughts? If there was a second voidfish, then his memory could still be tampered with.

Angus straightened up at that thought, overcome with an urge to go speak with Taako as soon as possible, not wanting to wait for his next visit to be scheduled. Angus was convinced that Taako had the answers he needed, that the hidden messages in the story weren’t just a bluff to get Angus to do whatever it was Taako wanted him to.

The whole story had been a way to circumvent the voidfish’s static, Angus realized. Now that he knew that, he knew what he needed to do next. Looking down at the package Merle had given him, Angus smiled. He held the perfect excuse for an impromptu visit in his hands. Clicking his stone of far speech off, Angus walked across the Bureau’s campus and headed for the prison dome.

* * *

The bandits shuffled towards the back of the caravan, gearing up as they prepared to approach the gates of the Imperial City and face their greatest enemy. But as the Gap-Tooth Bandit made to open the door and lead the procession outside, a voice squeaked out from the back of the caravan calling, “Wait!”

Six pairs of eyes snapped to where the outcry had come from. It was the Chronicler, standing in the middle of the caravan with her hands held up as if in surrender. She looked anxious.

“What is it, Chronicler?” Sildar asked.

“I don’t think we should do this,” the Chronicler announced. “I’ve been thinking it over, and this mission will be the end of us all.”

“Good time to bring it up,” Gap-Tooth rolled his eyes, tapping his fingers impatiently against Death’s scythe that was still imprisoned in his grasp.

“Let’s hear her out,” Leeman said.

“Thank-you,” the Chronicler said to Leeman, before turning to the rest of her fellow bandits. “Going into the Imperial City is a suicide mission. We’ll be outnumbered and outmatched in every capacity. If we just barge in there and attempt to kill off Governor Ravenous, there will be no mercy for us if we fail-”

“So, we don’t fail, then,” Bo interrupted.

The Chronicler gave a pleading look to the unconvinced expressions on her friends’ faces. “Please, just listen to me. If we could think of a non-violent, defensive approach to dealing with the Governor-”

“Non-violent!?” the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s eyes narrowed, pointing in the direction of the Imperial City. “This motherfucker took my sister from me and you want me to play mediator between his tyranny and our demand for justice?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to side with Gap-Tooth on this one,” Leeman said. “I know this guy on a personal level and he’s not someone who can be reasoned with.”

“If I may offer up my insight,” Death spoke, moving to stand in between the Chronicler and the rest of the bandits. “Governor Ravenous already wants you all dead. You’ve stolen from him. Apparently, those spoons you took meant a lot to him or whatever. If you still had them maybe he’d let you go, but I assume you don’t.”

“Yeah, no, we trashed them,” Gap-Tooth said.

“Right, there you go,” Death nodded, as if he’d predicted that exact response. “You have nothing that he wants. He has no reason to spare you.”

The Chronicler opened her mouth, looking ready to throw out a counterpoint; but the captain held up a hand, causing silence to fall over the caravan.

“Let’s not argue,” the captain said. “We’ll put it to a vote. All for the Chronicler’s plan for a non-violent approach…”

The Chronicler raised her hand, and it was her hand alone that stuck up in the air.

“All opposed?” the captain asked.

Everyone else in the caravan, including Death, raised their hand.

“Well, I guess we have our answer, then,” the captain said, his voice decisive. “We’re going.”

With that, the other bandits turned to exit the caravan.

“But wait!” the Chronicler called, hefting her sack of journals forward. “Let me-”

“It’s been decided,” Sildar said, the only one who turned when she called. “This will work, Chronicler. We shall come out victorious.”

Sildar turned and exited the caravan with the rest of the party, leaving the Chronicler alone. With no one else watching, the Chronicler reached into her bag and pulled out six silver spoons. She had reclaimed them from where she and the other bandits had thrown them away, having kept them hidden all this time. Tucking the silverware into the inner pocket of her robe, the Chronicler set a neutral expression on her face and went to join her friends outside. If the rest of them wouldn’t listen to her, the Chronicler would have to act on her own. She would defeat Governor Ravenous on her own terms, and the spoons were-

* * *

“Fucking spoons! What the fuck was I thinking!?” Taako exclaimed in expasperation, striking out the words he’d just written with a series of angry jabs from his pen. “That shit’s so stupid. He’s never gonna figure this out.”

Tearing out the page he’d been writing on from his notebook, Taako crumpled up the piece of paper and chucked it at the entrance to his prison cell. The wad of ink-splotched paper soared through the barrier keeping Taako imprisoned with ease, landing with a soft rustle on the tile floor of the brig’s narrow hallway. With a groan, Taako toppled over in his chair and slammed his head against the table beneath him.

“Is this a bad time?” asked a voice from behind.

Taako shot up with a gasp and whirled around in his seat, eyes wide as he took in the sudden presence of Kravitz standing in the middle of his prison cell.

“Uh, it’s a great time,” Taako cleared his throat, trying for a breezy smile as he stood up and faced Kravitz.

It was not, in fact, a great time. Taako had just woken up and was clad only in a red satin robe; his hair falling down his back in unstyled, tousled waves. Yesterday’s mascara was still smudged around his eyes, which were bleary and pink-tinted from definitely not crying. To boot, he’d been caught in the act of writing an absurd fairytale for a ten-year-old because he had nothing better to do.

But Taako shrugged off the embarrassment he felt, deciding he would deal with it later during his abundant free time. Right then, Taako turned a seductive look up at Kravitz and pretended that the particular state of his life he’d been found in was one-hundred percent intentional.

“So, what can I do for you, Mister Nice Death?” Taako asked, leaning one hand up against the wall and poising the other on his hip.

“Well, we need to talk, don’t we?” Kravitz regarded Taako with an amused lift of his eyebrows, drawing closer to the elf so the two of them were mere inches apart. “‘Cause your boys have added quite a bit to their death counts, haven’t they?”

“Have they!?” Taako laughed, running a hand through his hair as he wondered what Merle and Magnus could have possibly done to die without really dying more than they already had. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. But I mean, I think we can both safely say that this one is not on me, right?”

“Ah, yes, but you see…” Kravitz reached out and tucked a stray lock of Taako’s hair behind one long, pointed ear. Letting his cold fingertips linger just a second longer than necessary on Taako’s jaw, Kravitz pulled his touch away and smiled. “You see, I was given very specific instructions to come see you if those two ever gave me anymore trouble.”

Taako’s grin spread wider. “Gotta love a guy who remembers,” he said, giving Kravitz a playful knock on the shoulder. “Honestly, I’m just surprised you haven’t shown up again sooner. Those two are a glutton for punishment.”

“Are they?” Kravitz smirked. “Because you’re the only one sitting in a jail cell right now.”

“Yeah, well, I had a shit lawyer,” Taako shrugged, a scowl involuntarily passing over his face.

Kravitz scoffed a laugh, crossing his arms and leaning up against the wall with Taako. “Why exactly are you in here?”

“Oh, that is so not an easy question to answer,” Taako turned away, pulling out a chair from the table and sitting down again, motioning for Kravitz to take the seat opposite him. “Let’s just say that I know a little too much, and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Know too much about what?” Kravitz asked, sitting down in the chair opposite Taako.

“The Grand Relics,” Taako said. “The things Magnus, Merle, and I were hired to hunt down for the Bureau of Balance. One of which is the reason why those two have died some more on ya there. I’m guessing either Animus Bell or Temporal Chalice, on this one. Sorry, wait, can you hear what I’m saying right now? No static or anything?”

“Uh, no. No static as of yet,” Kravitz said.

“Huh,” Taako clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “You know about the Grand Relics, right? Do I need to catch you up to speed with that or…?”

“No, I know what they are,” Kravitz nodded. “The Relic Wars were devastating for this world. A lot of deaths. One doesn’t easily forget an event like that.”

“Yeah, well, not intentionally,” Taako muttered, but cleared his throat and moved on. “So, if you said Merle and Magnus added ‘quite a bit’ to their death counts, that must mean they died more than once?”

“Yes, they, uh…” Kravitz winced as if he’d just bitten into something rotten. “Yeah, they died quite a few times and are not currently dead...which is not normal, you might be interested to know. But it seems to be a bad habit for you and your friends.”

“Right. Got it,” Taako nodded, cupping his chin in one hand as he thought the details over. “So, I’m gonna go ahead and say that it was the Temporal Chalice these guys were after this time around. That would explain the multiple deaths thing.”

“How so?” Kravitz asked.

“The Temporal Chalice can rewrite time,” Taako said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. “If those two beefed it, whoever was using the Chalice could rewind and bring them back for whatever reason.”

“Ah-hah!” Kravitz said, looking genuinely surprised. “Well, that clears things up. But Taako, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?” Taako raised an eyebrow and smiled at Kravitz.

“It’s...Taako, look, the fact that I’ve had to come see you and your friends more than once about matters of life and death proves to me that this...reclaiming, or whatever it is that you do, is extremely dangerous,” Kravitz said, giving Taako a concerned look. “I just want to know why you’d do it? Why risk your neck over and over like this? Putting yourself in situations where you could end up dead or in prison?”

“Because it...Well…” Taako trailed off, lifting a hand in weary surrender. He had been about to go on some long winded spiel about how Lucretia had tricked him into doing her dirty work for him, but he knew the truth. He knew that if she hadn’t hired him, he would’ve found some other field of tomfoolery to get himself nearly killed with on his own. “I guess I just don’t think anyone else will have me.”

Kravitz sat up straight, a little taken aback. “Wow, that was, uh, very sincere.”

“Well, whaddya know? Maybe prison has helped reform my miscreant ways,” Taako said, only half-laughing at his own joke. “But I mean, it’s the truth. I have a very limited skillset and I’m not really sure what I’d be doing right now if I weren’t taking up space in this jail cell, writing fanfiction about myself.”

“I can sort of understand where you’re coming from,” Kravitz said, nestling the side of his jaw on top of his hand as he leaned on the tabletop.

Taako scoffed a laugh. “Really?”

“Ah, well, maybe not the writing fanfiction in jail thing…” Kravitz smiled. “But what I meant was that I’ve been at my job so long, sometimes I forget there were other things I was passionate about before I became an emissary for the Raven Queen.”

“Other things like what?” Taako smiled, folding his hands primly under his chin as he leaned forward as well.

“Well, when I was...you know, alive...I actually wanted to be a conductor,” Kravitz said. “But then, life happened. Or, I guess in this case, death happened.”

Taako’s eyes and nose scrunched up as he laughed at Kravitz’s joke. “You ever consider just not dying? Seems to be working well for me and the two idiots up there.”

“Hey, don’t push it, I can still get a contract out on all three of you if I really wanted to,” Kravitz said, but he was laughing, too. “Taako, thank-you for being so honest with me. I feel as if I understand your situation a bit better. And I don’t...I don’t actually have a contract out on you or your friends, so, don’t worry about that. Just, do you think you can give me an approximation of how many more deaths there will be from your crew’s end here? It’s going to better help me plead your case to the Raven Queen, when the time comes.”

“Oh, right, right, right...Uh…” Taako squinted up at the ceiling and thought for a minute before shaking his head and giving a noncommittal shrug. “Honestly, I don’t think you’ve gotta worry about too many more. The, uh, initial death counts you were charging us for happened a long time ago, and Mags’ and Merle’s recent add-ons seem to be just a result of that one relic. Any other deaths in the future will most likely be permanent, so, no worries.”

“Right, uh, that’s good news, then. I think,” Kravitz shook his head and smiled, eyes twinkling as he looked up at the wizard across from him. “I’m honestly still not sure what to make of you, Taako. Every time I’ve stopped to try and get a hold on you, I just find more that I need to figure out.”

“Oh?” Taako raised his eyebrows. “Does this mean you think about me in your Super Private Grim Reaper Alone Time?”

“Stop. Why did I tell you that?” Kravitz laughed, putting a hand over his face.

“Aw, hey, don’t be embarrassed,” Taako said through his own laughter, reaching across the table to pull Kravitz’ hand down into his own. The cold of Kravitz’s palms didn’t bother Taako so much anymore. “You’re not the first man to lie awake at night thinking about me.”

“Oh, is that a fact?” Kravitz asked, running his thumb across the back of Taako’s hand.

“You bet,” Taako nodded, gazing at Kravitz through his long eyelashes. The two were leaning so close to each other across the table, their noses were almost bumping. “But, now it’s my turn to be honest and embarrass myself,” Taako said, feeling blush crawl up his cheeks. “You might be the first guy who’s ever gotten me to lie awake at night thinking about him.”

Kravitz closed his eyes, expression flustered as he took a breath to speak; but when he opened his eyes, something in the corner of his vision distracted his attention.

“Oh, um,” Kravitz cleared his throat and pointed out at the hallway. “It seems you have a visitor.”

“Huh!?” Taako stood and whirled around to see who Kravitz was gesturing towards, worrying halfway to a panic before he’d even seen who it was. If Lucretia knew there was someone who could get in and out of Taako’s cell besides her, she would flip. But it wasn’t Lucretia who Kravitz had noticed.

“Ango!” Taako breathed a sigh of relief as he took in the sight of the young boy standing just outside his cell. “How’s it hangin’, little man?”

“Hello, sir,” Angus smiled, tilting to the side to peer around Taako and get a better look at Kravitz. “Um, is this a bad time?”

“It’s a-It’s a great time,” Taako told the same lie for the second time that day, angling himself so his body was blocking Kravitz from Angus’ sight. “I was just sitting here by myself, contemplating the unfairness of life, when I-”

“Sir, you don’t have to worry, my stone of far speech is off,” Angus said, holding up his stone for Taako’s inspection.

“Huh!” Taako peered down his nose at the deactivated communication device. Once he saw the stone really was turned off, Taako gave Angus a good-natured mocking smirk. “Sneak down here undetected again, did we? Pretty good bandit work, Ango.”

“I didn’t sneak, sir. I told the guards I have something for you. Which I do,” Angus said, holding up a small paper-wrapped package for Taako to see. “I just left out the part where no one else knew I was coming down to see you.”

Taako regarded Angus with a quiet, impressed look. After a moment of silence had passed, Taako cleared his throat and moved aside to reveal Kravitz, who had been sitting awkwardly behind him, unsure of what he should do. “Angus, meet Kravitz, your Grim Reaper and mine. Kravitz, meet Angus, your World’s Greatest Detective and mine.”

“Grim Reaper?” Angus’ eyes lit up as he moved as close to the barrier as he could. “So…” he gave Taako a smug look before turning his attention back to Kravitz. “...you’re Death, then?”

“Uh, yeah, some people call me Death,” Kravitz nodded, standing up with a nervous smile. Necromancers? No problem. Ten-year-old detectives? Intimidating. “Listen, I would love to stay, Taako, I really would. This has been lovely, but I have to get back to work. Angus, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“It was nice to meet you too, sir,” Angus said.

Taako turned to Kravitz and tugged on his lapels, giving one of his best half-smiles as he looked up into the handsome face of death. “Stop by again sometime, huh? It’s dull as tombs around here.”

“Ha-ha,” Kravitz rolled his eyes, stepping back as his scythe materialized in his hand.

“You really liven up the joint!” Taako called as Kravitz tore open a portal and put one foot through.

“Angus, discipline your wizard, would you?” Kravitz said.

“Right away, sir!” Angus said. “Taako, sir?”

“Yeah?” Taako angled his shoulders towards so he could turn and grin mischievously at Angus.

Angus pointed a stern finger up at Taako and said, very seriously: “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”

Taako and Angus burst into laughter while Kravitz quietly suffered in the background.

“Alright, I see how it is,” Kravitz said. “You are two of a kind, that’s for sure. Now, I’ve really got to go.”

Taako wiped a tear from his eye, settling his laughter enough to turn back around and waggle his fingers at Kravitz. “We’ll see ya around, Krav!”

“Goodbye, Kravitz!” Angus waved.

Kravitz gave one final departing wave, then stepped through his portal and vanished from sight. The tear sealed itself once he was gone, leaving Angus and Taako alone in the brig.

“He seems very nice, sir,” Angus remarked.

“Yeah, he does, doesn’t he?” Taako turned around to face Angus, grinning as he settled into one of the two chairs at his junk table.

Angus quirked his eyebrows up and gave the floor a smug look. “Was he your inspiration for Death in the story?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea of what you might be implying, Angus,” Taako said, tousling his messy hair so it all spilled over to one side of his head. “Kravitz isn’t nearly as suave as Death in the story is.”

“Whatever you say, sir,” Angus grinned, beginning a slow back and forth walking pace in front of Taako’s cell. “But, just in case you forgot, there’s no one listening in on us right now. You can be totally honest with me.”

“And what a good feeling that is,” Taako said, propping one elbow on the armrest of his chair and setting his chin in the palm of his hand. “So, Ango, you said you had something for me?”

“Yes, I do,” Angus perked up, halting in his tracks and extending the small package so it was halfway poking through the barrier.

Taako reached one long arm out and took the package in his hand, bringing it into his lap. “Not another Caleb Cleveland thriller, I presume?” he said.

“Oh, it’s not from me, sir,” Angus shook his head, resuming his pacing. “Merle got that for you in Refuge, the town he and Magnus just got back from. He wanted me to tell you that he and Magnus both miss you.”

“Isn’t that sweet?” Taako scoffed. But the lack of scorn in his voice coupled with the surreptitious way Taako let his hair fall in front of his face so his expression was hidden let Angus know that the elf truly was touched by the message from his friends.

“Well, let’s see what the old man got me, huh?” Taako said, yanking at the strings keeping the package tied shut. The brown paper fell away in a neat unfurl, revealing a small bread roll sitting in the center. Despite his initial befuddlement, Taako couldn’t deny that he was impressed Merle Fucking Highchurch would have thought to get him this. Taako could tell just by looking at the perfect golden brown crust that the roll was well-crafted and would taste like heaven when he bit into it. Setting his gift down on the table, Taako decided to save the roll for later, not really digging the idea of eating by himself in front of Angus.

Taako turned his head to look at Angus, who was straightening back up into a standing position after bending down to the ground for some unknown reason. “So, I take it you didn’t just come here to drop off some baked goods for ol’ Taako, did you, kid?” he asked, giving Angus a semi-suspicious once over before turning his attention to the chipping polish on his toenails.

“I wanted to see you, sir. I missed you,” Angus said.

“Missed me? You saw me, like, three days ago,” Taako scoffed.

“You don’t think that’s long enough to start missing someone?” Angus asked.

The sarcastic look on Taako’s face wavered a bit, but he quickly pulled it back together. “Whatever,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll pretend I believe all you wanted was to shoot the breeze with a convicted criminal. So, are you ready for your story time or what?”

“Actually, sir,” Angus said, glancing nervously to the elevator as if expecting the guards to come bursting in to drag him away. “I was wondering if you could tell me what you know about the Red Robes?”

Taako froze midway through picking the rest of his toenail polish off and straightened up in his seat. “Uh-uh,” Taako wagged his finger, regaining his composure after a momentary hesitation. “We made a deal at the start of all of this. No direct answers.”

“That was only about the questions relating to how you got put in jail in the first place,” Angus said, getting flustered with Taako’s continued evasive maneuvers.

“I know,” Taako said, lifting his gaze to look Angus directly in his eyes.

Angus furrowed his brow. “Are you saying the Red Robes are the reason you’re in jail?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Taako sighed, blowing hair out of his eyes as he threw his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Look, I already told you, even if I wanted to explain things in full detail, I can’t, okay?”

“Okay,” Angus nodded, remembering that if he was right about there being another voidfish, Taako’s claim to an inability to be anything but cryptic could very well be true.

“Okay,” Taako echoed, settling back into a casual position in his chair. Pressing a hand over his eyes, Taako pushed his fingers up into his hair and ran the long golden strands back off of his face. “Now, where were we?” he asked with a sigh, fetching a hand out to retrieve his notebook from the other side of the table and flipping it open to a dog-eared page.

“The bandits were about to approach the gates of the Imperial City,” Angus said, sitting down cross-legged on the floor.

“Right,” Taako nodded, looking over his notes a few times before taking up his storytelling voice and beginning his narration. “The bandits left the caravan and approached the gates of the Imperial City…”

* * *

The bandits left the caravan and approached the gates of the Imperial City, which loomed in front of them like a solid mass of black shadow. Never before had the six bandits seen a place look so imposing yet give off such a feeling of vast emptiness. Storm clouds gathered overhead as the group edged closer to the closed drawbridge denying their easy access to vengeance, and a great buzzing filled their ears. Looking down into the endless depths of the moat surrounding the city, the bandits saw why no one dared attempt to break into Governor Ravenous’ most formidable fortress.

“The Trench of the Forgotten,” the Chronicler said as she set her large burlap sack on the ground and began emptying out the journals inside. “No one knows the origin of the static which fills this expanse, because anyone who gets too close forgets all sense of themselves.”

“So, anyone who falls in loses their memories?” Sildar leaned over to get a better look at the swathing torrents of static below.

“Yes,” the Chronicler nodded, taking her now-empty sack in her hands and methodically tearing at the tough fabric.

“How do you suggest we cross then?” the Gap-Tooth Bandit pouted and turned to Death. “Hey, Reaper Man, any chance of you sending your avenging pigeons to give us a lift?”

“Ravens, not pigeons. And, no, I can’t. Not without my scythe,” Death said, jerking his head at the scythe still clasped in the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s hand. “If you returned it to me, I could help. But you’d have to trust my word that I would stay and assist you.”

“Trust is for chumps,” the Gap-Tooth Bandit sneered at Death. “Heads-up, Sildar!” he called out before tossing the scythe to Sildar, who caught it with one hand. “Get crackin’ on how to summon some birds to fly to our aid.”

“That might not be necessary, Gap-Tooth,” Leeman said from behind. “Chronicler here has figured out a plan.”

Gap-Tooth and the other bandits whirled around to see what plan the Chronicler had devised. The Chronicler was standing by the trench, holding a long rope in her hands. It was a handmade, rough hewn thing that had been fashioned from her old burlap sack; but it looked sturdy enough for a desperate cause and had a shining silver grappling hook attached to one end.

“Where’d you get the metal for the hook?” the captain asked, wondering why it looked so familiar to him.

“I found it laying around the abandoned palace,” the Chronicler answered, perhaps a little too quickly.

“Hmm,” Sildar pursed his lips in suspicion.

“Well, I’m not one to split hairs over stolen goods!” Gap-Tooth announced with an annoyed flip of his hands. “Swing that hook, Chronicler, I’ve got a sister to save.”

“On it,” the Chronicler nodded, whirling the hook in the air a few times before letting it fly. The hook propelled towards the black walls of the city and latched onto a nook in the parapets. Once she knew the hook was secure, the Chronicler took the other end of the rope and tied it to the wheel of the caravan. “Right, then, I’ll go first to make sure it’s safe.”

“Not so fast,” the captain held a hand out to stop the Chronicler’s trajectory. “I’m going first. If there are guards waiting for us on the other side of that wall, I’ll be the first one to take the brunt of the attack.”

The Chronicler began to protest. “But-”

“Best not argue with the captain,” Bo stepped up, slapping one burly arm around the Chronicler’s shoulders and giving her a sideways hug. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“It’s not…” the Chronicler trailed off when she realized she wasn’t going to win this argument, heaving a resigned sigh. “Fine. But I’m going second.”

WIth that, the captain wasted no more time in grabbing hold of the rope and beginning the long climb to the top of the wall. The other bandits watched on in equal parts anxiety and boredom at the seemingly endless ascent of their captain over a precipice of oblivion. But at long last, the captain reached the top of the wall, waving back down to his crew in triumph.

“I’ll go next,” the Chronicler announced, taking hold of the rope before any of her fellow bandits could protest. She had cradled one of her journals under her arm, kicking the rest of the pile into the trench. “The rest of you follow after I’ve reached the top.”

Once the Chronicler was safely at the captain’s side, the others followed after them. The Gap-Tooth Bandit went first, most eager to get into the Imperial City. He was followed closely by Death, who was flanked by Sildar with the scythe strapped to his back. Leeman was behind Sildar and Bo brought up the rear.

At the top of the wall, the captain was coming to a realization. As he stared at the silver grappling hook glinting in the bright sunlight, he suddenly knew why the metal looked so familiar. The hook supporting the weight of his crew wasn’t a hook at all. It was seven silver spoons, twined together to make a hook.

Eyes wide, the captain turned to address the Chronicler. But she had anticipated this. Taking her one lonely remaining journal in her hands, the tight-lipped Chronicler brought the thick tome swinging in a heaving arc and smacked the captain upside the head as he turned to her, knocking him unconscious. Reaching into her boot, the Chronicler pulled out a knife. Setting the blade against the rope, she gripped the hook in one hand and began sawing with the other.

On the rope, the string of bandits noticed a lurching in the tether under their hands. Bo was about to make a wisecrack about Leeman’s weight dragging them down, when Sildar called out a wordless warning and pointed to the top of the wall where the Chronicler was cutting the rope in two. The Gap-Tooth Bandit looked up in shock, meeting eyes with the Chronicler just as that final _snap_ of the rope breaking sent him and his fellow bandits spiraling into open air.

Wind rushed past the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s ears, cold and cutting as a dagger slashing through skin. The clouds overhead had darkened to a near pitch black. All around him, he could hear the sounds of his friends sharing in the same awful fate. Reality closed around them all like a cage. They had been deceived.

Death saw an opportunity in this deception, however, and angled himself in the air so he was facing Sildar. Thrusting out a deft hand, Death snatched his scythe back from the screaming bandit. But Sildar held fast, too frightened to unclench his grip on the scythe’s hilt. Not wanting to waste time, Death let Sildar keep holding on and focused his attention elsewhere.

In an instant, flocks of ravens fluttered out from within the folds of Death’s long cloak. They swarmed under him, beginning to carry him from the throes of obliteration. Sildar, too, was being carried by the flock of black birds; but he couldn’t find any relief in that as he watched his friends hurtle further away from him.

“We have to save them!” Sildar called up to Death.

“If we do that, we shall perish ourselves!” Death shouted back over the cacophonous flapping of multiple wings.

“Then we perish!” Sildar stated, voice resolute.

“You mortals are fools,” Death shook his head, but he was smiling as he spoke. “Alright, let’s try it.” Death hoisted Sildar around his waist and directed the fleet of ravens to make a dive for the other bandits.

The three remaining bandits were all in a cluster together. Bo had a flailing Gap-Tooth cradled tightly to his side with one arm, and was clutching Leeman by his beard with the other. Even though they were plummeting towards oblivion, the three of them were determined to go together.

“Gap-Tooth!” Sildar called, extending an arm towards the nearest bandit. “Take my hand!”

The Gap-Tooth Bandit ceased his horrified screaming at the sound of Sildar’s voice. Regaining some of his composure, Gap-Tooth gave his friend a nod and reached for Sildar’s outstretched hand.

But just as the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s and Sildar’s fingertips grazed, an odious _boom_ sounded from above. Thunder rippled through the air, and bolts of black lightning lanced through the tempestuous skies. A thick black tendril emitted from the center of the storm clouds, striking through the space between the two bandits’ hands. The force of the storm sent Death and Sildar flying in one direction, and the three remaining bandits sprawling away in three separate downward trajectories into the static abyss below.

Death pulled Sildar closer as the denim-clad bandit tried to make a dive after his friends, tugging him out of the burgeoning storm and carrying him off to temporary safety. The two settled to the ground a ways away from the dangers of the moat, chests heaving with the unsettling exhilaration of nearly having lost everything that made them who they were. Death’s gaze lifted to the dark clouds still looming overhead, knowing he and Sildar could only evade the Governor’s reach for so long. Unsure of what to do next, Sildar and Death ran to take shelter from the rain as it began to pelt at their skin like whips.

At three separate spaces in the static-filled moat surrounding the Imperial City, the unluckiest of the three remaining bandits landed in ungraceful heaps on the dirt floor of the deep trench. Although they were divided, all three shared the same unnerving experience of static overtaking their brains. Blaring obscura pounded at their senses from all sides, and none of them could remember who exactly they were or what they had been doing prior to that particular agonizing series of moments. Bo couldn’t remember the dog he had sacrificed his title for. Leeman forgot the relationship he had once had with the man he and his fellow bandits had sworn to destroy. The Gap-Tooth Bandit could no longer recall his sister, the person he had brought himself to this state for. All of these facets became void, the collateral damage of an unnecessary betrayal.

Within the walls of the Imperial City, the Chronicler tugged a dazed captain alongside her. The force of the Chronicler’s blow to his head, coupled with the tragedy of losing another crew to his own self-perceived carelessness, had reduced the captain to a shell of the man he once had been. The Chronicler carried on forward, though, clutching the seven silver spoons in a tight grip. Eyes set with determination, she made her way to the Royal Palace of the Imperial City.

And in the Royal Palace, there sat a sleek figure on a sleek black throne. Amidst the empty blackness of his polished throne room, awaiting the arrival of the Chronicler who would fail to defeat him, a smile flashed across Governor Ravenous’ face. This man could sense the ebbing away of a once great threat to his power. He had not seen the demise of the bandits, but he could feel the bonds between the seven of them breaking apart into splintered fragments. With the seven bandits no longer united against him, victory was certain for Governor Ravenous.

* * *

Angus became aware of the fact that he was picking at his lip in suspense when Taako’s narration coasted to a stop. Looking up at the serene expression on the wizard’s face, Angus held his hand out as if he were begging for alms. “Well!?” he prompted. “What happened after that?”

“Yeah, I’m having trouble remembering the rest…” Taako said, rubbing at his temples as if he had a tremendous headache. “I need you to get me something to help so I can finish the story.”

Angus sat up a little straighter, catching on to Taako’s manipulative game immediately. “What might that be, sir?”

“In the Director’s private sanctum, there’s a magically sealed vault door,” Taako said, reaching for his notebook and flipping to a page that had already been written on. “In the room behind that door, there’s a tank full of liquid. I’m gonna need you to drink from the tank first, and then I need you to get some of that liquid to Merle and Magnus and have them drink it, too,” Taako said, ripping the page from his notebook and extending it towards Angus through the barrier.

Angus stood up, reaching out and taking the piece of paper in his hands and examining it. It was a detailed list of instructions on how to pull of this heist Taako was describing. The list of steps were intentionally vague, and Angus could read every one of them without any static.

“You want me to break into the Director’s private sanctum?” Angus asked quietly, going over the notes on the paper once more.

“Uhm, well, I guess when you put it that way, it doesn’t sound great,” Taako said. “But trust me when I say it will be worth it once everything’s said and done.”

“But…” Angus bit his lip in hesitation. “It’s breaking the Bureau’s rules, sir.”

“Breaking the rules like sneaking into the brig to visit a prisoner without the Director’s permission is?” Taako challenged, standing up to his full height and leaning up against the wall of his cell.

“That was to help my investigation,” Angus said.

“And you think doing this won’t?” Taako lifted his eyebrows with an air of condescension.

“I don’t know, you’re not giving me a whole lot of information,” Angus said with an exasperated roll of his eyes.

“Again, I am fucking physically unable to give you much more information than I already have,” Taako said, half-laughing.

Taako spoke in his usual sardonic tone, voice dripping with nonchalance. But there was something else, something more behind the annoyed, sarcastic expression twisting an ugly smirk up Taako’s face. Underneath all of the pretense, Angus could tell the wizard was anxious. He could tell by the slight quiver at the corner of Taako’s mouth and the barely there tremble in his steepled fingers as they jutted out at Angus.

“Well, it’s up to you, honestly,” Taako shrugged when Angus didn’t say anything else, looking to the side and avoiding eye contact with him. ”If you don’t wanna chance it, I-I feel. Guess you’ll have to live with those unanswered questions though, hm?”

Angus scrunched up his nose, eyes narrowing as he looked past the calculated nonchalance on Taako’s face and saw through to the desperation hidden beyond that. “Taako…” he began to say, but was cut off.

“And it’s really too bad!” Taako piped up, a definite frantic edge to his voice now. “Because, uh...Because the final showdown happens in the Imperial City, which you have yet to really see. It’s pretty much incredible, Ango, it’s made entirely out of black opal and- and, uh-”

“Taako!” Angus said again in a firmer tone, halting the wizard’s speech and commanding his attention at last.

Taako blinked a few times, putting on an unconcerned demeanor once more. “Uh, yeah, what is it, pumpkin?”

“I’m going to do what you’re asking me to,” Angus said.

“Oh?” Taako’s eyebrows quirked up in surprise.

“But I need to ask you to do something for me, too,” Angus added before Taako could start looking too self-satisfied.

“Oh,” Taako’s eyebrow wrinkled in disappointed confusion, mouth curling in slight disgust. “What’s that?”

“Tell me the truth?” Angus said. “Please?”

Taako slapped a hand to his chest, mouth agape in mock astonishment. “Are you calling me a liar?”

Angus gave Taako a look, lifting his eyebrows over the rim of his glasses and tilting his head as if to say: “We both know the answer to that question.”

“Okay, fine,” Taako rolled his eyes. “No promises about how much of the truth you will be able to comprehend, though, I’ll tell ya that right now.”

“I only need one word: yes or no,” Angus said, tired of hearing that excuse. “This is very important for me to know, and I don’t have time for one of your cryptic answers. And I swear, Taako, don’t you dare lie to me. I’m the World’s Greatest Detective, I’ll be able to tell.”

“Okay,” Taako said, expression growing a touch more serious as he realized that Angus wasn’t kidding around with his horseshit anymore. “Okay, Ango, you win. Ask me your questions, I promise I’ll tell you the truth.”

“Thank-you, sir,” Angus breathed a small sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing just a fraction from their tensed position. “Alright, first question,” he glanced over at the elevator doors once more before asking, “Is there a second voidfish?”

Taako blinked a few times, gaping in genuine surprise at the question as it left Angus’ mouth. “Yes,” he answered with a nod of his head.

Angus took a deep breath, nodding along with Taako as the gravity of what that answer meant truly soaked in. “Next question,” he said after a minute. “Are you inoculated against that voidfish?”

“Yes.”

“Is the Director?”

“Yes.”

“Are Merle and Magnus?”

“No.”

“Okay,” Angus said. “Is inoculating them what you’re trying to get me to do by breaking into the Director’s vault?”

Taako paused before answering, pursing his lips as if contemplating just staying quiet. “Yes,” he said at last, silence never coming easy to him anyways.

“Last two questions,” Angus said, holding up two fingers as he did. “Do you know who the Red Robes really are?”

“Yes,” Taako said.

Angus took another deep breath, bracing himself for static as he asked his final question. “Are you a Red Robe?”

“Yes,” Taako answered, and Angus heard him; but he couldn’t put together what the question and resounding answer combined to mean. Every time he tried to think about the fact that Taako’s answer pointed to, his brain skipped over it like a faulty cassette player. Angus had anticipated this result, of course, but it didn’t make the reality of it any less dissatisfying.

The silence that followed was wrought with tension, full of the intense sense of relief mixed with uncertainty that follows the speaking of truths that have long been skirted around. Taako looked honest to God nervous for once in his life, and Angus felt the gravity of the situation close around his heart like a metal cage. Making eye contact with each other, Taako and Angus each took shaking breaths and shared a look of apprehensive urgency.

“Sir, thank-you for being honest with me,” Angus said at last, his voice quiet in the already quiet brig. “I promise, I’ll get on the case as soon as I can. It won’t be easy, but-” he paused to laugh. “-I got you to tell the truth; so, how much harder can it be?”

Taako smiled. He didn’t laugh, but he smiled. There was nothing he could say. The truth was finally out, and his scheming had worked. But there was this tight feeling in his chest as he looked down at Angus’ smiling face. It almost felt like...No. No, no way. There was no way he felt guilty. Taako didn’t feel guilt.

But that wasn’t true. Taako could lie to everyone else, but he couldn’t lie to himself. Not when he was stuck in a prison cell with nothing to distract him from how he really felt about the kind of person he was.

“Are you alright, sir?” Angus asked, looking concerned as he gazed up at Taako’s face.

“Uh, yeah,” Taako nodded, hoping Angus didn’t catch how his voice cracked. (He did.) “Yeah, I’m fine, Ango, don’t worry about me. Just, uh...No, yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“Okay,” Angus said slowly, entirely unconvinced. “But just in case you’re not-”

“I’m _fine_ , Angus,” Taako insisted.

“Alright, I’ll pretend I believe you,” Angus said, using Taako’s words from earlier.

“Good,” Taako said, voice crawling back into the safety of his unconcerned bravado. Walking back to the table, Taako collapsed into one of his chairs, letting his limbs dangle of the confines of the seat.

“I guess I’ll be going then, sir,” Angus said, turning towards the elevator.

“Mmm,” Taako gave a bored hum of acknowledgment, having pressing the palm of his hand against his mouth to suppress the scowl taking up residence there.

“I’ll see you soon,” Angus said, giving Taako a small wave before he began to walk away down the hall.

“Hey, Angus,” Taako called suddenly before the boy had gone too far.

“Yes, sir?” Angus poked his head back into view.

Taako closed his hand into a loose fist, picking at the nail polish on his fingers with his thumbnail. Giving Angus a long, quiet look, he finally spoke again in a voice almost too soft to be audible. “Be careful,” he said, looking Angus in the eyes.

“I will be, sir,” Angus said, and turned to leave again. His small footsteps receding and the sound of the elevator doors closing behind him hearkened his departure from the brig.

Taako heaved a bodily sigh, pressing his hands over his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look around and think about the circumstances he was in for a hot minute. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze immediately fell on his bread roll from Merle. Such an odd choice for a souvenir, and such an oddly thoughtful thing for Merle to do. Taking the roll in his hands, Taako tore a piece off to taste test when something about the gift caught his eye. Poking out from the center of the roll, baked into the middle, was a folded up piece of paper.

“What in the…” Taako murmured as he tugged the paper out and held it between his fingers. Discarding the bread on its wrapping paper, he took the paper in both hands and unfolded it. There was a message written there.

_In the future, you will be offered a terrible choice between two options that will determine the fate of reality itself. In this moment of crisis, remember:_

_There is always a third option._

Taako scrunched his nose at the cryptic message, not liking the taste of his own medicine reading it left in his mouth.

Mulling over the words of the fortune, another scrap of paper came to mind. Turning to the entrance of his cell, Taako looked to see if that rolled up page of writing he’d thrown earlier was still there. Not that it mattered to him if he got a page of scrapped writing back, but any distraction from the unlucky turn his life had taken him was welcome in his prison cell. Rising to his feet, Taako pressed his face up against the barrier and looked both ways down the hallway. But the paper was nowhere in sight.

Leaning his back up against the wall near his cell’s entrance, Taako wrinkled his brow as he thought about how it could have vanished. He remembered catching Angus stooping down to the ground earlier for some reason Taako hadn’t known or cared to know, and now he realized that the kid had pulled a fast one on him. Taako scoffed a laugh, turning away from the barrier with a shake of his head. It seemed Angus really was the World’s Greatest Detective, and he was about to blow this entire mystery wide open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rubs hands together* We're about to enter The Drama Zone in the coming chapters so, like, look forward to that.


	8. Things Fall Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus rushes in. Lucretia does some proofreading. Angus makes an entrance.

The Gap-Tooth Bandit stumbled through the static wasteland, unsure of where and who he was. There was not a corner of his mind that he could be sure was intact, and even trying to remember why that was a going concern gave him pause. He had no recollection of how he had ended up wherever he was, and his only clue was the pitting feeling of betrayal that was embedded in his chest like a knife. Even if he couldn’t remember who had betrayed him and how, the pain remained his only constant.

All sense of time had quickly been lost to the Gap-Tooth Bandit, each second blurring into the next until he could no longer be sure if any time had passed at all. There was no variation in terrain or scenery to indicate that he had even moved from where he’d fallen. He soon tired of walking and collapsed in a heap on the ground, looking up at the static-filled sky.

Up above there came a glimmer in the sea of incoherent nothing. A white streak in the air, the promise of a change. The bandit sat up in shock and stared at the glittering dot as it floated down towards him. Reaching out, the bandit caught the burst of light with one hand. Resting in his gentle grasp, still hot from its descent from the heavens, was a fallen star.

Before the Gap-Tooth Bandit had too long to ponder the twinkling mass before him, the star split in two and unfurled across his palm. What remained was a small scroll of pure white parchment, scrawled over with a cryptic message:

_In the future, you will be offered a terrible choice between two options that will determine the fate of reality itself. In this moment of crisis, remember:_

_There is always a third option._

The Gap-Tooth Bandit wondered what the fortune might mean. But then he decided that if he was meant to figure the message out, he would and that there was no point waiting around in one spot for inspiration to strike. Tucking the paper into his pocket, the Gap-Tooth Bandit hunched his shoulders and plowed further into the static trench without another thought on the matter.

* * *

Angus scrunched his face up in concentration, fingers tapping impatiently against the wood of his dorm desk. Before him were several weeks’ worth of secret notes Taako and he had been passing back and forth. On the sheets of creased paper were shoddy hand drawn blueprints of the Director’s office and attempted solutions to puzzles even Angus was having trouble figuring out. Planning a heist through the written word was difficult enough, but Angus had never been inside the Director’s private sanctum and Taako had been possessed the one time he had gotten in; so, neither of them could set out the details of their plan with any measure of certainty.

More so than any other detail, Taako and Angus both were stumped as to when would be the most opportune moment to pull off the heist. The Director’s private sanctum had always been hard to break into, but ever since Taako’s break-in several months ago, the place seemed near impenetrable for the amount of effort the Director had gone to in order to keep it secure from any further intrusions.

As the weeks passed with no significant chance at circumventing the Bureau’s security system, Taako grew more and more anxious. Each time Angus delivered the news that he hadn’t been able to figure out a way to get into the Director’s vault, Taako would react with wordless fits of exasperation. Angus could hardly blame Taako for reacting that way, Angus was growing frustrated too. Looking over the pages of notes just exacerbated that fact, and Angus could barely stomach to look at them any longer.

Pushing the notes aside with a huff, Angus pulled a different sheet of paper out of his pocket. He had since smoothed out the wrinkles from when it had been crumpled on the brig’s floor, but the scrap of paper Angus had salvaged from one of Taako’s editing sessions was still disheveled enough to draw curious glances from passerby. For that reason, Angus kept it always on his person and only ever looked at it in private.

It was strange to feel so protective of the scrapped page of a story only Angus and Taako fully understood. The words on the paper were barely legible as it were. Taako’s chicken scratch penmanship, which fluctuated between common and elvish script, coupled with the blotted out strings of words that had been redacted functioned better than any secret code could have at keeping prying eyes from reading something they weren’t supposed to. But still, Angus felt an instinctive need to keep the story between just Taako and him. Whatever its purpose, to Angus the story was something special that Taako had created just for him.

Reading over the patches of narration that he could make out for the umpteenth time, Angus sighed down at the paper. Even though the new information about the voidfish and the Red Robes had illuminated some dark corners of the story’s mystery, many of the details still evaded Angus. Aside from the usual question of which bandit represented which real life person, Angus found the story’s actual plot to be its most confusing aspect. The plotpoint of a handful of spoons being the catalyst for the wrath of what seemed to be an overpowered dark wizard seemed, quite frankly, a little stupid to Angus. Which was why he was sure that the spoons signified something else, but what that something was he just wasn’t sure of yet.

As he sat and pondered the details of Taako’s story once more, Angus heard a transmission come through on his stone of farspeech. It was one of the Bureau members informing Angus that it was almost time to send the Reclaimers off on their next mission and that he could come to wait for them in the Director’s office.

Giving a short reply that he was on his way, Angus gathered all of his notes together and stuffed them into his bag. Then, with one last look around his room, Angus shut the door and made his way to the Director’s office.

* * *

Lucretia sat with her fingers pressed to her lips, silence pounding at her from every corner of Taako’s jail cell. The two were seated across from each other at the only table in the small room, which was as covered in unorganized junk as it ever had been. Lucretia had come to see Taako, as she often did, in the early morning hours before the rest of the campus was abuzz with activities that required her attention. Taako sat in belligerent quiet, as he often did, not looking at Lucretia by keeping his gaze trained on the notebook he was scratching into.

It was the morning that Magnus and Merle were scheduled to set out for Wonderland and reclaim the Animus Bell. Both Taako and Lucretia knew this. The reality of that fact hung like a cluster of fractious electricity in the air. As a result, the silence between the two felt even more oppressive than usual. Neither of them wanted to bring the Grand Relics up, but it seemed to be the only topic the two of them had in common anymore.

“Uh, what are you- What are you writing there?” Lucretia asked in a desperate attempt to talk about anything at all that would break the silence. She inclined her head a little ways over the table to peer at Taako’s illegible scrawl, and jumped back when Taako slammed the cover shut.

“None of your beeswax,” Taako said, tucking the notebook out of sight and slouching back in his chair. Crossing his arms over his chest, Taako scowled at the floor with the concentration of a man who has made it his mission to be as unpleasant as possible.

“Alright…” Lucretia’s hand tightened around her staff to keep her sweaty grip from slipping off of the powerful weapon. “Well, I just wanted to let you know that Magnus and Merle have been training rigorously for this mission and I think that they’ll be just f-”

“Lucretia, please,” Taako groaned, leaning forward so he could set his elbows on the table and bury his face in his hands. “Don’t try to make me feel better about this. Especially not when I could sense your anxiety over Mags and Merle going to Wonderland before you even set foot on that elevator this morning.”

Lucretia sighed with her entire body, her stoic posture slipping away as she leaned her forehead in her free hand. “You’re right.”

“Wow, how do those words taste coming out of your mouth?” Taako asked, peeping his face out from behind his hands so he could give Lucretia a haughty smirk.

Lucretia scoffed, rolling her eyes as she sat back in her seat. “You know I don’t actually think I’m right all the time, right?”

“Sure, I believe you,” Taako stuck his tongue out at her, lips curving up into a smile.

Lucretia reached for a nearby scrap of paper, crumpling it into a ball and throwing it at Taako’s face. When the wad of paper hit Taako square in his sarcastic expression, Lucretia started to laugh.

“Hey!” Taako started laughing, too, brushing his nose where the paper had bounced off his face and then fallen to the floor. “Oh, it is fucking on, now…” he muttered, picking the wad of paper off the floor and flinging it back at Lucretia with all of his might.

The crumpled ball bounced away from Lucretia with a faint shimmer as it hit against the barrier she’d reflexively conjured around herself. Taako gasped in pretend shock and Lucretia laughed harder, covering her mouth with her hand so she wouldn’t snort.

“Cheated!” Taako announced to the empty brig, standing up to his full wizard height for extra drama. “I have been _cheated_ of my vengeance!”

“Taako, you-” Lucretia started to say through bursts of laughter, but was cut off by the telltale crackling of her stone of farspeech. “Hold on,” she said, picking up her stone where it hung around her neck. “Hello?”

“Hi, ma’am,” Killian’s voice crackled through the stone. “We’re, uh, we’re all ready for you up here. Magnus and Merle are on their way to training last I heard, so, if you wanna do this thing now’s the time, I guess.”

“Right,” The Director nodded, and Lucretia looked over to meet Taako’s eyes. The smiles on both of their faces had faded quickly as soon as reality had set back in. “Thank you, Killian, I-I’ll be right up.”

With that, the call ended and Lucretia and Taako were back to complete silence. Taako sank back into his chair, all theatrics from just a moment ago replaced with exhausted dread as he and Lucretia looked at each other.

“Wonderland,” he said softly, pressing his lips into the palm his chin was resting on.

“Wonderland,” Lucretia nodded, fingers drumming against the white oak of her staff.

“Lucretia, can I just-”

“Taako, please, let’s not do this again.”

“I just want to make one final plea for you to not send Magnus and Merle into that place,” Taako said, clenching his hands tight together so Lucretia wouldn’t see that they were shaking. The details of what awaited victims in Wonderland were chilling enough to make Taako’s blood run cold at the mere thought of the place. Lucretia had told Taako about her experience in Wonderland, of course she had. One of the first things he’d demanded to know after getting his memories back was why The Starblaster’s baby looked twenty years older than she should have.

“You know what could happen to them in there,” Taako said. “And if you get your way then there’s gonna be no new cycle awaiting us to undo the damages.”

“I know,” Lucretia took a heavy breath, her hands clutching tight around her staff to hide how much they were shaking. “Believe me, though, there’s no way I would be sending them in there if I wasn’t absolutely positive they could handle it.”

“I guess I have no choice but to hope you’re right,” Taako sighed.

Lucretia couldn’t think of anything else to say, so, she stood from her seat and made her way out of Taako’s cell. Before she began to walk towards the elevator though, she threw a glance back at Taako over her shoulder. “I’ll come tell you how things went after Magnus and Merle return,” she said quietly, and then strode away.

Taako lifted his head and caught a glimpse of Lucretia’s long blue robes swishing regally before she was out of eyeshot. As the sound of the elevator doors opening and closing sounded down the hall, Taako forced his hands apart and flexed the joints of his hands that were sore from having been clenched together so tightly.

The silence surrounding him after Lucretia had gone was palpable. Whenever Taako had felt trapped before, he always found a way to dodge his feelings and do something else that would distract him. Being actually physically trapped though, there was nowhere to run but in circles.   The visits from Lucretia and Angus had become less and less over the past few weeks as the entire Bureau prepared for Wonderland; and the visits from Kravitz had stopped abruptly with no explanation and Taako didn’t even want to entertain the possibility that he knew exactly why they had stopped. With those brief glimmers of respite dwindling before his eyes, Taako felt the gravity of his isolation as if it had grown hands and was dragging him further and further into a deep dark void.

Wiping his sweaty palms on the silk of his pants, Taako reached for his closed notebook. What had started as a scam had grown into a full-fledged project for Taako. Flipping to the page he’d left off working on, Taako did the only thing he had left to do. He picked up his pen and began to write.

* * *

Sildar looked up at the worsening storm from where he stood at the mouth of the small cave he and Death were huddled in. Rain pelted at the sprawling desert relentlessly, turning the golden mounds of sand into beige heaps of muck as water ran in raging rivulets down the beaten slopes of their sides. Pillars of black opal descended at a rapid pace, marbling the earth with pools of sentient darkness. Overhead the clouds grew darker and darker, any silver linings had long since been swallowed up in shadow. The only illumination were the staunch veins of lighting that shot through the air and struck at the sand, burning it to glass where the two met.

“Don’t think this will be letting up any time soon, do you?” Sildar asked, looking at Death over his shoulder.

“No, it’s...It’s not a storm of nature,” Death shook his head, hood drawn to cover his face as he sat against the wall of the shallow cave. “At least, not anymore. It would seem even nature is under Governor Ravenous’ control now. It will last as long as he needs it to.”

“Needs it to?” Sildar wrinkled his brow up at the storm clouds again. “The way you and Leeman talk about the Governor makes it seems like he’s just a guy, the same as you and me. Well, maybe not you. But me. Definitely me.”

“What is your point?” Death sighed, leaning his head wearily against the staff of his scythe.

“Leeman said once that Ravenous used to be a regular man, but that this darkness-” Sildar gestured to the forest of black opal pillars before him. “-it took over his heart and made him into a monster. Is that true?”

“Well, your friend would know better than I,” Death said, standing and turning so his back was to Sildar. He drew his hood further down over his face.

“I wish he were here,” Sildar murmured in a voice so quiet it was as if he was saying it only to himself. Maybe he was. “I wish they were all here. Even the Chronicler, I- She was just doing what she thought was best for everyone. I’m sure once we all talk, things will be fine.”

Death laughed. It was an abrupt, startling noise to hear. Like pots and pans tumbling from their precarious stack in a too-packed cabinet.

Sildar turned to look at Death, and drew back with a gasp. The tall dark figure who had become his begrudging ally was hunched over in front of Sildar, remaining on two feet only be sheer force of will. All over Death’s handsome face were crags of black opal, obscuring the specter’s features so he resembled a cracked mirror. The red of Death’s eyes had deepened to dark carnage and when he smiled, black gunge seeped out between his teeth.

“Fool,” Death’s mouth spat out at Sildar in a voice he had never heard before. “There is nothing you can do to stop me. Your friends are lost. All that awaits you is to be consumed, as it awaits every creature in this horrible world.”

“Who are you?” Sildar croaked out, even though he was sure he knew the answer.

“Who am I? I am-” But Death’s face crumpled in a sudden pained rage, the figure crumpling to the ground with a pitiful whine. Sildar watched in stunned silence, unable to move.

Death hunched over, retching and coughing as black liquid spurted through his teeth. He looked up at Sildar and his eyes were once again their usual bright red color, swimming with panic as he began to be overcome with Governor Ravenous’ control once again. In his last moment of lucidity, Death gagged out a single command to Sildar as the reaper was forced to his feet.

“ _Run._ ”

* * *

Angus stood amidst the small gathering of Bureau members assembled in the Director’s office that morning. In fact, it was only Angus, Magnus, Merle, the Director, and Davenport standing together in the room. Magnus and Merle were being informed about the precise location of the next relic by the Director; Angus was there to assure the two Reclaimers that he’d be available for live intel during their mission; and Davenport was just there to be Davenport.

As the Director spoke, Angus kept reminding himself to pay attention; but during the Director’s entire explanation of a place called Wonderland, Angus was only half-listening. His gaze kept flicking to the heavy door on the wall under the enchanted portrait of the Director, and Angus could only hope that no one was paying attention to the growing look of anxiety on his face as his promise to Taako loomed over his head.

“Angus?” the Director’s voice chimed out, full of concern. “Are you alright?”

Angus looked up with a start, uncomfortable as he realized all eyes in the room were now on him. “I-I, um…I’m-I’m just feeling anxious for Magnus and Merle, ma’am,” he managed to stammer out.

“Oh...” the Director gave Angus a sympathetic look.

“Jeez, kid, give us some credit,” Merle scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“No, Angus has every right to be concerned for you two,” the Director said.

“I mean, sure,” Magnus shrugged. “But it might not be helpful to hammer that point home too hard. Ango, Merle and I have been training for this for a while now; so, at least know that we’re as prepared as possible to do this mission.”

“Thank-you, sir,” Angus smiled. “I know you’ll both do your best.”

“Right, so,” the Director cleared her throat, making her own little impatient gesture as she looked between the others gathered in the room with her. “Are you two ready to go or do you have any last minute business to attend to before you blast off?”

“Wait, that’s it?” Merle asked. “We’re just jumping right in?”

The Director sighed. “I mean, unless you wanted to spend like twenty minutes picking out shorts again-”

“I really like those shorts.”

“Right, I’m-” Lucretia pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sure you do. Look, if you two have nothing else to do, I suggest we-”

“Wait, can you tell us anything about the bell? Do you know what it does or…?” Magnus asked. “Like, can you give us anything to go off of?”

“No, uh, whoever had the Animus Bell had it squirreled away very nicely and it never really circulated so we don’t have much information on it.”

“Oh, okay,” Magnus nodded. “There’s something else, I’ve been wanting to ask, I just haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to you in the past few weeks. I feel like if there are other participants in Wonderland that we run the risk of running into more Red Robes.”

“Um, I doubt it,” the Director said, eyes glancing to the side as she spoke. “Obviously, the Red Robes are still in operation, to my surprise. But there can’t be that many of them left.”

“But if we do run into any more of them, is there anything the Bureau knows? Anything you can tell us?” Magnus pressed, exchanging the briefest of understanding glances with Angus.

“They are extremely dangerous,” the Director said, her voice stern with the importance of what she was trying to convey. “They cannot be trusted. If you see one, report it to me immediately. Other than that, just run away. You are not ready. Don’t listen to a word they say, they will lie to you to get you to do what they want, but their purposes are evil. Magnus, they are - they are beings of pure evil.”

“But how do you know?” Magnus asked.

“I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with Red Robes,” Lucretia said, still not making eye contact with anyone in the room.

“And they’ve all been evil?”

“Invariably.”

“Okay,” Magnus crossed his arms over his broad chest, looking dissatisfied with the answers he’d received.

The Director addressed the rest of the room again. “Is there anything else, or can we get started?”

“Yeah, there’s something else I want to ask,” Magnus said.

The Director sighed in slight exasperation. “Okay, pop it off, Magnus.”

“Can I go say goodbye to Taako, please?”

The Director jolted upright a bit, looking startled at the request. “I don’t think-”

“Yeah, come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind saying goodbye to the ol’ drama queen myself,” Merle chimed in. “Since it sounds like there’s a good chance we might not make it back and all.”

“No,” the Director tapped her staff firmly on the ground once. “I’m sorry, boys, no can do on this one. Taako is dangerous, he’s affiliated with the Red Robes. He cannot be trusted.”

“You let the kindergartner go visit him all the time!” Merle protested.

“Those are pre-approved visits that are monitored, and - Also, really, there’s just no time,” the Director said. “We really need to get this Wonderland mission going. So, I’m sorry, but no. I will let him know you two thought of him, but that’s the best I can offer.”

“Alright…” Merle sighed, hands poised on his hips like he wanted to argue further but was holding himself back from doing so.

“Magnus?” the Director turned to the younger man for his response.

“Yeah, no, I get it,” Magnus nodded. “I just need to grab something from my room and then I’ll be all set, okay?”

“Okay, but hurry it up, please,” the Director said.

“No worries, I’ll be back in a jiff,” Magnus called over his shoulder as he strode briskly from the room.

Angus looked after Magnus and then looked to the Director. She and Merle had resumed an earlier conversation about the new season of _Orange Is the New Black_ while waiting for Magnus to return; neither of them were paying Angus any attention.

Deciding his absence wouldn’t be noted, Angus slinked from the room as nonchalantly as he could and followed Magnus from a distance. Magnus made a beeline straight across the campus, walking as fast as he could while still remaining conspicuous. Angus had guessed at where Magnus was really heading after his unfruitful conversation with the Director, and now he could see that he had been right. Doing his best to remain unseen, Angus followed Magnus into the prison dome.

* * *

Taako looked up from the page he’d been writing on when he heard the elevator doors open, and his ears flicked back in caution. Lucretia had left him only twenty or so minutes ago, there was no way she had come back to see him again that soon. Angus wasn’t supposed to visit him today, but that had never stopped the kid from getting past the guards whenever he wanted to. Any visit from either of them could point to only one thing: that something had gone terribly wrong and he was their best option for a solution.

Standing up from his seat at the table, Taako moved slowly towards the entrance to his cell as the sound of heavy footsteps pounded at the metal floor. _So, definitely not Lucretia or Angus._ Taako thought, angling his head to get a better look at who was approaching his cell at such a rapid pace. It was at that precise moment that Taako’s visitor bounded into view, giving Taako such a start that he actually jumped back in shock.

“Magnus!” Taako gasped, looking his old friend up and down in complete befuddlement.

“Taako,” Magnus smiled in spite of the urgency of the situation. “It’s good to see you, buddy.”

“You too…” Taako forced himself to start breathing again, looking towards the elevator for any sign of a troop of guards in hot pursuit of Magnus and finding an unnerving nothing. “How did you get down here?”

“I knocked the guards out and put them in my pocket workshop,” Magnus said, patting the magical item that hung from his belt. “Now, look, I don’t have much time-”

“Hey, wait a second!” Taako exclaimed, one slender finger pointing out at Magnus’ hand in accusation. “That’s _my_ Ring of Frost!”

Magnus looked down at his hand and grimaced before raising his eyes to meet Taako. “Yeah, we kind of, uh, raided your magic items that you left in the dorm…”

“You _fucking_ -”

“Merle took your Pocket Spa. Be mad about that instead!”

“You’re lucky this barrier-” Taako punctuated his sentence with a bang on the barrier to set off a bright shimmer where he hit it. “-is holding me back right now. I cannot _believe_ you’d steal from me-”

“Taako, I meant it when I said I didn’t have much time,” Magnus interrupted his friend. “The Director’s waiting for me to leave on the next mission, and I need to ask you something before I go.”

Taako blew the hair out of his eyes with an angry huff and crossed his arms. “Okay, shoot,” he said, jutting his hip out to one side.

“Why are you in here?”

“Oh, she didn’t tell you?” Taako raised his eyebrows. “I got caught breaking into her private vault after we came back from Goldcliff.”

Magnus furrowed his brow in confusion. “Why would you do that?”

“I didn’t,” Taako said, his tone growing serious. Taking a deep breath, Taako resigned himself to not being believed and decided to tell Magnus the truth anyways. “You remember that Red Robe that showed up in Captain Bane’s office?”

“Yes, I recall,” Magnus nodded.

“He possessed me so he could break into Lucretia’s vault.”

“Whoa, are you serious?”

Taako rolled his eyes. “No, Magnus, I made it up because it sounds so classy.”

“I mean, it is kind of cool,” Magnus shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s awesome having your bodily autonomy taken away and then being thrown in jail for something you didn’t do!” Taako said with sarcastic enthusiasm. “Look, Mags, there’s more to this than you know and I’m trying to help you the best that I can-”

“Since when do you call me ‘Mags’!?” Magnus scoffed, taken off guard by the term of endearment.

“It doesn’t matter,” Taako waved a dismissive hand through the air. “You-You’ve gotta get back up there or else Lucretia’s going to figure out what’s going on and you’ll wind up in the cell right next to me. You’ve gotta go, go, go.”

“I- Okay- You-” Magnus hesitated, bouncing from foot to foot as he looked between his friend and the elevator. “Taako, you’re okay, right? They haven’t hurt you or anything while you’ve been down here.”

Taako laughed once, a warm familiar feeling budding in his chest.  “Is that what you’ve been worried about?”

“Yeah,” Magnus nodded. “The Director hasn’t really been giving us detailed updates about you. Merle and I have been worried you weren’t being treated well or something.”

“Well, set your conscience at ease, Mags,” Taako smiled, leaning one elbow up against the wall and pushing his entire posture into it. “Apart from being lied to and imprisoned, I have been given the star treatment. Now, you need to leave, like, three minutes ago. Get out of here.”

“Okay,” Magnus said, turning towards the elevator while still looking at Taako. “If anyone asks, I wasn’t here.”

“Duh,” Taako smirked, but then his face fell as another thought occurred to him. “Hey, Magnus?”

“Yeah, dude?” Magnus swiveled back around to look at his friend.

Taako bit his lip for a moment, considering whether or not to say what he was about to; but his concern got the better of him and he muttered a quiet: “Be careful.”

It was Magnus’ turn to look concerned. “Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked, stepping close to Taako’s cell to get a better look at his friend’s face.

“I’m just…” Taako avoided eye contact by staring at the ceiling tiles. “...I have a pretty good idea what’s waiting for you in Wonderland, is all.”

“Well, I’ll be as careful as I can be, I promise,” Magnus said, a caring smile on his face.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Taako shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was just saying because, uh, it’d be a real pain to have to find a replacement for you.”

“Whatever you say, buddy,” Magnus laughed, turning to walk away again. “I’ll see you real soon, how’s that?”

“Lookin’ forward to it,” Taako called out as Magnus strode towards the elevator, and he managed to wrestle the sarcasm of the statement down to a minimum.

* * *

Magnus rode the elevator back up to the main level, guards still in his pocket. Not wanting to keep the Director waiting any longer, Magnus picked up his pace and bolted from the small dome, heading back towards the Director’s office. Magnus had left in such a rush, that he hadn’t noticed there had been another witness to his break-in other than the two Bureau guards he’d incapacitated. Stepping out from the shadows of the narrow space that led to the elevator doors, Angus McDonald looked to the empty guard station and realized he had found the perfect distraction for pulling off a break-in of his own.

Heading out of the prison dome a few moments after Magnus had left, Angus watched the fighter run for the transportation dome. Angus didn’t want Magnus to get in trouble, and he didn’t want to stop the Reclaimers’ mission dead in its tracks; so, he hovered near the canon bay and waited until he was sure Magnus and Merle had been launched towards Wonderland before he did anything else.

Once the two Reclaimers were surely out of the Bureau’s reach in case of any negative backlash, Angus turned for the Director’s office. Breaking out into a frenzied run, Angus tried to work himself into as convincible a panic as he could manage before bursting through the door he’d left from moments ago and skidding to a halt right in the middle of the Director’s office.

A few more Bureau members had gathered inside the office since Angus had left, all of them gathered in a semi-circle around the Director’s desk as Lucretia sat overlooking a spread of papers with complicated looking symbols scrawled on them. When Angus came barrelling in though, all eyes snapped up to look at him and the Director stood up in alarm.

“Angus, I’d been wondering where you’d snuck off to,” the Director said, furrowing her brow at the child’s uncharacteristically disheveled appearance. “What’s the matter?”

“I went to see Taako…” Angus panted, exaggerating just how out of breath he was for dramatic effect.

“Angus, you know you’re not supposed to go visit Taako without my knowing-”

“I know,” Angus said. “But I wanted to check and see if he knew anything about Wonderland- I got caught up in the moment and forgot to ask you, I’m sorry. That doesn’t matter though because I never made it down to see him.”

“Why not?” the Director asked, stepping out from behind her desk now and moving towards Angus.

“The guards-” Angus pointed in the vague direction of the prison dome. “The guards are missing from their posts.”

“They’re what!?” the Director’s brow furrowed deeper, eyes lighting up with panic.

“I looked all over, but couldn’t find them,” Angus wheezed, trying to match the Director’s panic with an equal level of his own pretend panic. “I came running to get you as soon as I realized they were gone.”

“Oh my God. Okay,” the Director held a hand out, palm down, to steady the energy in the room before turning to the other Bureau members. “Everyone follow me to the prison dome so we can access the situation. I don’t know if this is a break-in or a break-out, but I need all of you to be prepared to deal with either scenario. Angus, I want you to stay here, is that understood?”

“But ma’am, I can help-”

“No, absolutely not,” the Director waved her hand with an air of finality. “Stay here until we determine whether or not the base is safe.”

Angus gave his best impersonation of his own guarded sulky expression and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good,” the Director said, turning away and ushering the other Bureau members out of the room while she picked up her stone of farspeech and began talking hurriedly into it. The last person to leave shut the door behind them, and Angus was left completely alone in the Director’s office.

Not wasting a minute, Angus whirled around and ran at the door to the side of the Director’s self portrait. Angus grasped the handle and tugged with all his might; the door wasn’t locked or enchanted but it was extremely heavy, and it took Angus a few long moments of huffing and puffing to get it open enough to squeeze past it.

The attached hallway was long and nondescript except for the intricate vault door that lay at the other end. Angus reached into his pocket and pulled out the notes he and Taako had been working on for weeks. Hesitating in the doorway, Angus pored over the notes on the awaiting pedestals one last time. They were patchy and based solely on the testimony of what Taako could remember after having been possessed, but they were all Angus had to go off of and so he had no choice but to rely on them. Looking back over his shoulder one last time, Angus decided it was either now or never and let the heavy door shut behind him. He tucked the notes back into his pocket and took a step down into the long hallway.

As soon as Angus stepped into the hall, his foot - instead of meeting with solid ground - fell into open air beneath him. Taken by surprise, Angus couldn’t react fast enough to catch his balance and fell forward into the gaping void which opened wider and wider underneath him as floor tiles flaked away into the murky blackness.

Wind rushed past his ears and the shock of the sudden fall ripped any capacity to scream from Angus’ throat; he sprawled in gaping terror as the darkness all around seemed to consume him from every side the further he dropped into its bottomless depths.

But after the initial shock of the fall had settled into a dull panic, Angus could think enough to reason his way out of his current predicament. He realized there couldn’t actually be a bottomless pit on the Bureau’s moon base, and that the falling he was experiencing had to be an illusion.

The instant Angus had that thought, he found himself sprawling around on the floor of that long hallway while a security alarm blared overhead. Sitting bolt upright, Angus took his wand off its lanyard and aimed at the alarm bell that was ringing out, casting Silence and momentarily cutting out any noise emitting from the large bell hanging on the wall.

Angus didn’t know if anyone had heard the alarm go off, and decided not to wait around to find out. If his time was limited, then it was better spent to his advantage by trying to get done what he’d been sent there to do. Pushing himself off the floor, Angus ran down the hallway and skidded to a halt in front of the twelve pedestals that blockaded his entry into the vault.

Angus barely had time to regroup and prepare for the puzzle that awaited him before the first orb illuminated and he had no choice but to act. Calling on all he could remember from the notes Taako and he had written together, Angus chased after every fifth orb moving counter-clockwise. That much seemed to work, but after that step Angus began to get jumbled with the instructions. He couldn’t remember if it was right to touch every fifth orb or if there was some exception he was forgetting. There was something about the emerald orb that he couldn’t remember. Angus tried to reach for his notes again, but that caused him to lose his place in the puzzle.

As he looked back up at the orbs, Angus realized he was no longer focusing on keeping the alarm bell quiet. Sure enough, once he realized that, Angus noticed the bell was blaring out louder than before. Muttering curses under his breath, Angus tried to move fast through the puzzle and solve it before the approaching footsteps he could heard reached him. But he couldn’t do it. He was the World’s Greatest Detective and he could not figure out this mystery. The footsteps were growing louder, almost thundering in Angus’ ears for their closeness.

Angus was just about to make a desperate attempt to cast the most powerful Thunderwave he could manage at the vault door, when he hear the heavy door at the other end of the hall slam open and the sound of hurried footsteps rush into the hall with him. Looking over his shoulder, Angus could see Killian heading a troop of Regulators down the hallway. When Killian saw that it was Angus who had tripped the alarm, she froze in momentary bafflement. Angus tried to take the opportunity to dodge around the gaggle of Bureau employees, but was quickly caught by the scruff of his neck and dragged up off the ground.

“Alright, kid, time to confess,” Killian, who had been the one to catch Angus and was now dangling the kid detective directly in front of her irate face. “Who put you up to this?”

* * *

“Taako!?” Lucretia called out, pushing her way out of the elevator the moment the doors cracked open. She stormed past the handful of empty cells in a huff, desperate to reach the end of the hall where Taako was imprisoned. “Taako, are you in here?”

The rest of the Bureau was on high alert above ground, looking for the missing guards and trying to nail down any suspects for a potential break-in to the prison. Lucretia had volunteered herself to go and make sure Taako hadn’t escaped. A few other Bureau employees had wanted to go with her, but Lucretia had insisted there wasn’t anything Taako could do to her that she couldn’t handle. Besides, if the hunch Lucretia had about who exactly had broken in was correct, she’d need to speak with Taako alone anyhow.

“Taako!” Lucretia shouted, slightly more frantic when her initial call went unanswered. Rounding on the only occupied cell in the brig, Lucretia felt her heartbeat stutter when she found the space to be empty at first glance. “Taako!?” she called again, her voice sounding harsh and removed from any of the stoic pretense Lucretia had crafted to fit her Director persona.

“Not so loud, jeez, I’m right here.”

A rustle of fabric from the unkempt bed in the corner set Lucretia’s heartbeat back on the track to a normal pace. Taako’s mane of unstyled blonde locks shot up from the bed as blankets were pushed away and the wizard popped up amongst them. Disentangling himself from the mess of sheets, Taako walked up to the cell’s barrier and gave Lucretia a confused up-and-down look.

“Something the matter?” Taako prompted when Lucretia remained silent, lifting an eyebrow and pursing his lips as he waited for a response.

Lucretia took a deep breath, straightening her posture before speaking. “The guards outside the elevator are missing,” she said in as level a voice she could manage.

Taako cocked one ear towards Lucretia as if maybe he’d misheard her. “And? What does that have to do with me?”

Lucretia blew an irritated huff of air out through her nostrils. “Don’t play dumb.”

“Who’s playing?”

“I know Magnus broke down here to see you,” Lucretia said. “He was asking about you before he left and then needed to go and ‘grab something from his room’ at the last minute? I know I’ve been slow on the uptake before, but even I can put this puzzle together.”

“If you’re _so_ sure, why’d you come see me about it at all?” Taako challenged, his face an impassive mask of sarcasm.

“To have you tell me what you and he talked about,” Lucretia said. “What did you say to him?”

“Gosh, I don’t know,” Taako shrugged, his eyes flying wide in feigned ignorance. “Maybe if you had some better security up in this joint you could answer your own questions for once instead of relying on the testimony of your prisoners.”

Lucretia closed her eyes tightly, her fingers pressing deep into the worry lines creasing her forehead. “Taako, I swear-”

“Okay, back off before you even get started, alright?” Taako snapped, holding out a finger at Lucretia to shut her up. “Like, I didn’t fucking do anything wrong here; I’ve just been sitting in jail this whole time! Which, I might add, I also didn’t do anything to deserve. If Magnus broke down here to see me, that’s on him. I am a nonplayer in this particular game. I didn’t tell _anyone_ to break in _anywhere_!”

Lucretia took a breath to offer a retort of her own, but was cut off by the crackling sound of a message coming through on her stone of farspeech. She let the stone dangle unanswered for a moment as she contemplated whether or not to pick up. Heaving a resigned sigh, Lucretia let the heat of her argument with Taako drop from her shoulders and resumed her stoic facade as she picked up her stone and answered the call.

“Yes, he’s still down here,” Lucretia said as she picked up, speaking to what she believed was the purpose of the call; rolling her eyes at Taako as he mimicked her ‘Madam Director’ posture from the sidelines.

“Uh, that’s good news!” Killian’s garbled voice spoke out from the stone. “But that’s actually not why I’m calling.”

Lucretia furrowed her brow down at her stone. “Why are you calling then? Did you find the guards?”

“No,” Killian said, sounding apprehensive to give the Director full disclosure. “We’ve got a little bit of a situation up here in your office.”

Lucretia’s gaze immediately flicked up to meet Taako’s, who couldn’t react fast enough to hide the flash of panic in his eyes.

“What sort of situation?” she asked.

Killian’s voice hesitated for a long moment before she finally spoke again. “We caught Angus trying to break into your private vault. He’s saying he got lost, but he tripped the illusory magic alarm system and we actually caught him in the process of solving that orb puzzle you have set up. So, what should we- What should I do?”

As Killian spoke, Lucretia’s eyes never left Taako’s face. Taako was doing his best to appear nonchalant, but the sudden news had caught him off guard as well and his expression was wavering on the verge of a grimace. Lucretia’s fingers tightened around the stone in her grip, her lips drawing into a thin line.

“I’m in the brig with Taako,” the Director replied in a cold voice. “Send Angus down here immediately. I need to speak with the both of them, together.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Killian said, and her voice cut away as the call ended.

The silence that followed was tense and impenetrable. Even if either Taako or Lucretia had wanted to say anything, there existed an insurmountable gap between their understandings. Both of them found there was nothing they could say that would reach the other, in that moment. So, they waited in silence until there came the familiar sound of the elevator doors whooshing open at the end of the hall.

Angus McDonald stepped out of the elevator and let the doors close behind him, but he made no move to join the Director and Taako.

“Angus, come over here, please,” Lucretia beckoned, forcing calm into her voice as she spoke to the nervous child before her.

Angus, still shaken from his failed heist attempt, walked towards the Director as if he were heading to the Eternal Stockade. The closer he got, the more fearful he felt of the stony expression on the Director’s face. When he finally reached the two adults, Angus looked up at both of them and began to try to explain.

“Madam Director, I’m so sorry,” Angus squeaked out. “I really did get lost at first but then I guess I just got carried away with the prospect of a new area of the Bureau to explore-”

“That’s enough,” Lucretia held up a hand, placing it gently on the young boy’s shoulder. “Angus, I need you to tell me the truth right now. Did Taako put you up to this?”

Angus looked up at Taako and then back at Lucretia, already shaking his head. “N-”

“Yes,” Taako cut him off, and both Lucretia’s and Angus’ heads snapped up to look at him in surprise. “Yes, it was all my idea. Blame me, don’t blame him.”

Lucretia sighed, a look of profound disappointment breaking over her face. “Taako, why would you do this?”

“You know why,” Taako said, crossing his arms and looking down at his feet.

“Right then, I suppose I have no other choice,” Lucretia said quietly, giving Angus an apologetic look. “Angus, you are no longer allowed to visit Taako. Under any circumstances. It was foolish of me to ever agree to these visits in the first place, and now it’s apparent why.”

Taako turned away, striding towards his kitchen and ignoring his two visitors.

“Wait,” Angus said, turning pleading eyes up to the Director. “Please, ma’am, I’m sure we could come up with some other arrangement so I could still come visit Taako.”

“Absolutely not,” the Director shook her head, glancing at Taako as he rummaged loudly through his cutlery drawer. “I’m sorry, but no. Taako has abused the privilege and now he’s lost it.”

“But-”

“Hey, don’t fret too much, Ango,” Taako said, returning to the mouth of the cell with an easy grin. Something was clutched in his hand, just out of sight. “I’m sure you’ll find something else to occupy your time with.”

Lucretia wrinkled her brow at whatever was concealed in Taako’s grip. “Taako, what do you have there?”

Taako nodded towards the items in his hand. “Oh, these? Well, they’re just-”

Taako brought his arm forward and chucked the objects in his hand at Lucretia too fast for her to deflect them. A metallic tinkling sounded through the air as about a half dozen silver spoons clattered down around the Director, landing in a half-formed circle around her feet.

Lucretia looked at the spoons in utter befuddlement. “Taako, what…?”

“Payback for earlier,” Taako winked, turning his attention to Angus. “Hope that answers some questions for you, kiddo.”

Angus looked from the spoons on the ground to the Director’s confused expression to the indicative flick of Taako’s eyebrows; and felt his eyes grow wide as he realized the implication of what had just happened.

Lucretia, too, was assessing what had just happened and turned her gaze on Taako. “What is going on!?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” Taako shrugged, moving back and away from the front of the cell. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

Lucretia took one look at Angus, who was staring gape-mouthed up at her, to know that wasn’t true. “Angus,” she said, snapping the child out of whatever shocked state he was in with the sharp tone of her voice. “You can go back up now. We’ll discuss what you’ve done later.”

Angus nodded mechanically. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and then turned to Taako. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more, sir.”

“That’s alright, kid,” Taako said. “I never had my hopes set that high to begin with.”

With that, Angus turned and bolted to the elevator as if someone were chasing him. As soon as the elevator doors had opened and shut, carrying the boy up to the ground level, Lucretia stormed forward into Taako’s cell.

“Taako, what is going on?” she repeated herself. “I know you’ve been telling him something you shouldn’t have, why else would he be breaking into my vault?”

“Hey, I haven’t told him anything that your babysitters deemed inappropriate enough to alert you about,” Taako scoffed, sitting down at the table, his elbow slamming down on the closed cover of his notebook.

Lucretia’s eyes zeroed in on the notebook. “What are you always writing in there?”

Taako followed Lucretia’s gaze, his expression turning sour. “I thought I told you it was none of your business.”

“I am the Director of the Bureau of Balance, breaches to its security are always my business,” Lucretia said, reaching out and snatching the notebook from under Taako’s elbow.

“Hey! Give that back!” Taako shot up to make a grab for his notebook, but Lucretia pushed him off with a hasty shield off her staff and made her way to the other side of the cell’s barrier.

Taako staggered to his feet from where he’d been knocked flat on his back by Lucretia’s spell, watching in enraged terror as she flipped the cover back on his notebook and began reading through it.

Lucretia flipped through page after page of the story Taako had been writing for months now, glancing up every so often to give him a look that grew more and more astonished with each passing paragraph. When she’d read enough to get the gist of what Taako had been doing, she snapped the cover shut and clutched the notebook close to her chest.

She gave a hoarse, humorless laugh. “You, uh...You sure did find a way around Junior’s static, huh?”

“Don’t act so surprised,” Taako stepped up to the front of his cell. “I’m not the colossal idiot your memory wipe had me believing I was.”

“Taako, I know you’ve been feeling desperate…” Lucretia said, shaking her head in disbelief. “I know you’ve been clawing at the walls ever since I put you in here. And I did put you in here, I will never try to claim otherwise. But bringing Angus into your schemes like this is wrong and you know it.”

“Is it!?” Taako’s eyebrows inclined at a sharp angle. “Well, answer me this, Madam Director: How did he get here in the first place? Do you remember having anything at all to do with the fact that Angus is a ten-year-old working for a secret agency on a fake moon!?”

Lucretia took a sharp intake of breath through her nose. “Just once, would it kill you to take responsibility for what you’ve done?”

“I will when you do,” Taako snapped.

“I _have_ taken responsibility!”

“No. No, you haven’t,” Taako said. “You have admitted to what you’ve done, it’s not the same thing as taking responsibility. You keep yourself in this little bubble where you don’t have to face any consequences unless they’re under your terms and when you’re ready to face them.”

“Now who’s the hypocrite?” Lucretia shot back. “You do the same thing!”

Taako crossed his arms and turned away, standing stock-still and refusing to speak as he glared at the ground.

“Taako,” Lucretia broke the silence, her voice sounding defeated. “You know I can’t let Angus remember this story.”

That got Taako to whirl back around, his face paling with cold rage. “When is enough going to be enough for you? What, are you going to erase all memory of me, too? Blot me out from everyone’s past just like you did with Lup?”

“It’d only be for a few days,” Lucretia closed her eyes and pressed at her temples as if fighting off a colossal migraine. “Magnus and Merle will be coming back with the Animus Bell soon and then I can finally cast my barrier and then everyone will remember.”

“You know what?” Taako backed away from Lucretia, shaking his head in disgust. “Get out of here. I can’t even look at you anymore.”

Lucretia nodded once and then, without another word, turned and left with Taako's notebook still in hand.

* * *

 Sildar fell to his knees in the waterlogged sands of the vast desert, gasping for breath as exhaustion gripped his lungs. Once Death had fallen completely under Governor Ravenous’ control, Sildar had run as fast and as far as his denim-clad legs could carry him. Somewhere amidst the storm and the dodging between pillars of black opal, Death had either lost track of Sildar or conscientiously stopped chasing him. Either way, Sildar could finally rest now that he was out of immediate danger.

The storm still raged overhead, and Sildar found himself smack-dab in the middle of it. Tall pillars of black opal were within arm’s-reach in every direction, giving Sildar a slatted view of the horizon. He could no longer tell which direction he was going and, without Bo’s body map to guide him, had no way of getting his bearings.

Putting his face in his hands, Sildar let the rain drench him completely. If he was the only hope for the other bandits, then Sildar feared there was in fact no hope to be had at all. Such a monumental task lay before him that he felt sure he couldn’t do it on his own.

But he had to. That was the thing: He had to do it on his own. Sildar couldn’t give up even if he felt that he would fail in his attempts to save his friends. It was in his nature to help the people he loved; he had no other choice but to answer that calling.

With that in mind, Sildar rose to his feet and surveyed what he could of the obscured horizon. As he was trying to make out a spot in the far distance that was emitting a strange glow, Sildar became aware of the sound of footsteps approaching him from behind. The steps were hastened and squelched in the mucky sand. Whoever was approaching obviously wasn’t concerned with stealth, and so Sildar turned and faced them head-on.

Sildar was taken aback by who awaited him. Of all the possibilities Sildar had prepared for in the split second before turning around, the reality he received had not even been on his radar. Mouth agape, Sildar turned his bewildered expression downwards to meet eyes with the young boy who had just appeared out of nowhere.

“Hello, sir!” the child waved up at Sildar with a bright grin. “My name’s Angus McDonald, and I’m the World’s Greatest Detective. I’ve come to help you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you next chapter ;)


	9. Story of A Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucretia bears some bad news. Bo Didley sees the light. Merle lets the necromancer out of the bag.

Angus paced back and forth in his dorm, unsure of what to do with himself. He was in a heap of trouble with the Director, he knew that much; and he knew if he so much as stuck his nose outside, he’d have every Bureau member on high alert for what exactly he was up to. But despite all of that, Angus couldn’t just sit still and wait for the Director to hand him his punishment for breaking into her office; he _had_ to do something, he just didn’t know what it was he _could_ do.

Around the umpteenth time Angus had circled around his tiny room, fate intervened for him again and his stone of far speech began to ring. Grabbing onto the stone, Angus patched the call through and held the rock up to his face.

“Hello?” he asked into the silence on the other end. The call had come from an unknown channel, and Angus was anxious to hear who it was that had called him.

There was a hacking noise, like an old man with a cold clearing his throat, and then a familiar voice came garbling through the stone. “Hey, kid, it’s Merle.”

“Merle?” Angus wrinkled his brow. “Why aren’t you calling me from your own stone?”

“Um, well, it kinda got smashed when I...You know, when I smashed it-”

“Why would you break your stone of far speech?”

“It was a complicated- Look, I don’t have time to go over the particulars with you. Can you hustle your butt on over to the Fantasy Costco? There’s something we gotta pull off and some people- not me -think your help would be valuable.”

“I-” Angus stopped his pacing, casting a nervous glance to the door. “Sir, I’m in a little bit of trouble right now. I don’t think I can inconspicuously run across the Bureau’s campus.”

Merle laughed on the other end. “Trouble? You? What’d you do, not clean up your toys after playtime or…?”

“I tried to break into the Director’s office,” Angus said, not seeing a point in hiding the information from Merle since he was sure it was public Bureau news by then anyways. “It, uh, didn’t work out too well.”

There was a long pause from Merle’s end, followed by the distant sound of a hushed squabble, and then Merle’s voice patched back into focus. “Alright, then, I guess I’m coming to get you. Sit tight, I’ll be right over.”

Before Angus could say anything else, the line cut dead, and Angus was left to wait in silence. Resuming his pacing, Angus wondered what he was being recruited for this time. He didn’t have long to wonder, because before he knew it, there was a short knocking on his bedroom door and he went over to let Merle in.

Merle huffed as he shut the door behind him. “I tell you what kid, I never done so much running around for shit I didn’t fully understand before I joined up with this bozo organization.”

Angus looked down at Merle in confusion. “Where’s Magnus?”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just...not feeling himself right now…” Merle said, chuckling a little at a joke Angus didn’t get. “Like I said, I don’t got a lot of time here so…” Merle dug around in his bag and pulled out Taako’s confiscated Pocket Spa. “You getting in the spa or what?”

“Um...what?” Angus blanched.

Merle sighed. “You’re in trouble with the Director for breaking into her vault, right? Well, she ain’t gonna let me into her office if you’re with me, and Magnus said I should bring you along for whatever reason. So, I repeat: You getting in the spa or what?”

“I’m...I guess I’m getting in the spa…” Angus said, reaching out to touch the magical object.

Just like that, Angus found himself toppling headfirst into gleaming white floor tiles as the sound of flowing water filled his ears. His glasses had knocked askew in the fall, but he could make out the blurry image of another person in the Pocket Spa with him. Drawing back in sudden fear, Angus straightened his glasses and looked up into the middle-aged face of a human man who was looking back at him with concern.

“You okay, bud?” the stranger asked, straightening his own glasses and leaning down to offer Angus a hand.

“I’m...I’m fine,” Angus managed, taking the man’s hand and letting him pull him to his feet. “Who are you?”

The man stepped back and grinned down at Angus. “My name’s Barry J. Bluejeans. I’ve come to help.”

* * *

Sildar stared at the child before him in stunned silence. The boy who had introduced himself as Angus McDonald seemed unbothered by this, that same pleasant smile remaining on his face as he looked back at the bedraggled man who loomed over him. Sildar scrunched his brows and blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes as if Angus could possibly be a mirage. But when Sildar opened his eyes again and the young boy still stood there, the both of them soaking to the bone in the ongoing storm, Sildar decided that this was no hallucination.

“You, uh…” Sildar stammered, giving the tumultuous black clouds overhead a worried look. “How did you get here?”

“I’ve been following you and your friends for quite a while now,” Angus said, stepping up and taking Sildar’s hand gently in his own and tugging him towards the strange glow Sildar had spied in the distance earlier. “Please, sir, we have to keep moving if we’re going to help them.”

“Help who?” Sildar demanded, letting the small boy drag him along in a confused stupor despite his reservations.

“Your friends,” Angus said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “They’re trapped right now, it’s up to us to save them.”

“Whoa, whoa, kid! Wait,” Sildar stopped in his tracks, spinning Angus around to face him. “I can’t let you get involved with this.”

“Well, I’m already involved,” Angus said with a tilt of his head, smiling at Sildar as if the man was just an endearing oaf who needed everything spelled out for him in careful detail.  “You may not like it, sir, but I am going to be involved whether you accept my help or not.”

Sildar gave a desperate attempt at a laugh, shaking his head at Angus and putting his hands on his hips. “You’re gonna help me, huh? What are you, like- You’re a kid, man, like a really young kid. How can you help me?”

Angus sighed, reaching into his coat. “Sir-”

“No, I wanna know how you’re gonna help me,” Sildar interrupted him. “If I’m going to let you get involved, you better tell me just exactly why-”

“I have a map,” Angus cut Sildar off, whipping out a rolled up scroll from within his coat. “I know which direction to go. Do you?”

Sildar reached for the paper clutched in the boy’s hand, but Angus drew back and replaced the map inside his coat. Sildar blew a resigned puff of air out of his nostrils. “Fine,” he said. “I accept your help. Now, let’s get out of this godforsaken rain.”

“I couldn’t agree more, sir,” Angus smiled, grabbing Sildar’s hand again and pulling him along. “Hurry it up, if you can, we haven’t got that much longer to set things right!”

And with that, the bandit and the child charged out of the storm and ran towards the strange light that was glowing in the distance. The rain washed away their mucky footsteps from the sand, leaving no trail to follow them by. What awaited them at their destination remained a mystery, but that was no worry for them. After all, Angus McDonald was the World’s Greatest Detective and, although Sildar was yet to believe it, there was no mystery in that world too great for that remarkable young boy to uncover.

* * *

Lucretia sat in her office, elbows planted on the surface of her desk as the heels of her palms dug into either side of her head. Laid open on the desk in front of her was Taako’s notebook that she had confiscated just hours ago; she had been reading the words scribbled within over and over, her gut wrenching at every disguised emotion Taako had crammed into the details of that convoluted story. She had closed herself off from the rest of the Bureau, enstating a rule that she not be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. Dried tracks of tears raced down her cheeks, being momentarily replenished by the intermittent fall of a new teardrop which followed the path of its predecessors. The ghost of an uttered possibility hung overhead as Lucretia remembered herself telling Taako that she would have to feed this story to Junior.

“I’m so close…” Lucretia muttered to herself, closing her eyes and pressing her hands over her face as she forced herself to take a shaky breath. “I’m _so_ close, I can’t take any chances,” she said, shuddering at the thought of how Angus had almost succeeded in breaking into her vault.

Bringing her hands away from her face, Lucretia touched the pages of Taako’s notebook with a weary sigh. It would be a shame to feed those pages to the voidfish, Lucretia thought. The handwriting on the pages was so familiar to Lucretia, looked so much like it belonged to Taako; reading that jumbled mass of scribbles felt like looking deep into the heart of her friend. With that thought in mind, consigning that notebook to oblivion seemed to Lucretia to be the same as erasing Taako as well as Lup, as he had put it earlier that day.

Lucretia almost laughed. “He does so love to be proven right,” she murmured, running another fond touch down the edge of the notebook. Flipping the cover closed, Lucretia sighed again and held the notebook to her chest. “It won’t be for that long,” she reminded herself as she stood from her chair and turned towards the heavy door at the back of her office.

But Lucretia didn’t even make it two steps towards the heavy door below her portrait before another door went flying open. Lucretia whirled around to face the flung open door to her office, eyebrows raising in surprise as Davenport, flanked by two guards, bustled in pushing a cart that held one of the lead orbs used to contain the relics.

“Is that the Animus Bell?” she asked, voice hushed as she made her way to the lead orb to inspect it for herself.

“Davenport!” Davenport said proudly, and Lucretia couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Madam Director, there’s something you should know,” one of the guards said.

“Yes?” Lucretia looked up at the guard who had spoken. “What is it?”

“One of the Reclaimers, he-” the guard closed his eyes and took a sharp breath, as if what he had to say pained him greatly. “Magnus didn’t make it. He died in Wonderland.”

Lucretia felt her heart cave in on itself, her grip on her staff tightened and she could only manage to stare wide-eyed down at the lead orb. “Magnus is dead?” she whispered.

“Yes, ma’am,” the other guard chimed in, as if to corroborate her coworker’s report. “Merle’s taking it very hard.”

“I, um- I imagine he is,” Lucretia said, hearing her voice crack and pressing a closed fist to her mouth to keep any impending sobs at bay. Lucretia stood in complete silence, not trusting herself to say anything for fear of giving herself away. It was too great a sorrow to hide under her usual facade, and Lucretia could feel her Director persona flaking away with each passing second.

“Ma’am?” the second guard prompted at last, getting Lucretia to meet her eyes. “Should we ready the destruction chamber?”

Lucretia looked back down to the lead orb and nodded. “Yes,” she said, with a gesture of her hand out the door. Then, biting her finger, she remembered the promise she’d made to tell Taako how the mission had gone when Magnus and Merle returned. “Actually,” she interrupted the others as they turned to leave. “You all go ahead and make the appropriate preparations, there’s something I need to do before we proceed.”

“Davenport?” Davenport gave her a concerned look.

“It’s nothing serious,” Lucretia said, touching Davenport’s shoulder as a sign of her assurance that everything was fine. “I just...I need to tell Taako about Magnus, that’s all.”

The two guards sucked in matching breaths of caution, bracing themselves as if they were the ones who would have to deliver the news.

“Do you want us to go with you, ma’am?” the first guard asked.

“No, I want you to prepare to destroy the Animus Bell,” she said, turning to Davenport as the small gathering of Bureau members left her office. “Davenport, I am putting my trust in you to guard this relic.”

“Davenport!” he nodded, a determined set to his jaw.

Lucretia gave her captain a sad smile. “We’re so close,” she whispered, out of earshot of the guards. “It won’t be much longer now.”

Then, Lucretia stood and made to leave the administrative dome, only to be interrupted as the doors burst open and a distraught-looking Merle came hustling in. As the guards had reported, Merle did appear to be taking Magnus’ death very hard. Tears and snot ran down his face, gathering in a gooey mess in the tangles of his beard. Merle struggled to walk in a straight line, swaggering as if he were drunk; and staggered right over to Lucretia.

“Lucretia, ah, is that you?” Merle sobbed, waving his hands around as if he couldn’t see and was feeling his way around the room.

“I- Yes, Merle, I’m-” Lucretia rushed over to meet her friend, kneeling down so they were at eye-level. “I’m so sorry about Magnus. I knew there were risks involved in you two going into Wonderland, but...Believe me, if I’d thought you couldn’t have handled it, I never would have sent you in there. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, he-” Merle cut off with a particularly loud sniffle, reaching out and using the corner of his shirt to blow his nose into. “Look, I know you’re probably in the middle of blowing up the last relic and all but, um...I was thinking, we oughta have a memorial service or something for ol’ Maggie.”

“Of course, yes,” Lucretia nodded, doing her utmost not to burst into tears as well at the sight of her friend in such distress. “I mean, we will have the rites of remembrance.”

“I know, yeah, but I was thinkin’ maybe something a bit more...personal?” Merle suggested. “I feel like we’ve all - you, me, and Magnus - we’ve all gotten pretty close over the past few months. I was wondering if, before we do all this big important stuff, if I could just have a moment alone in your office to...to think about how much that big guy touched our lives…and chopped off my arm...Please, if you could just do that for me; I’ve done so much for you, I’ve lost so much...”

Lucretia felt sobs welling in her chest as the broken words of her friend met her ears and, without thinking, nodded. “I know you have had a truly awful day, Merle, and of course-”

“Thanks, I’m glad you understand!” Merle interrupted, blubbering loud as a baby.

“Go wait in my office,” Lucretia said, putting a hand on Merle’s shoulder and giving him a nudge towards her office. “I have some finger sandwiches in there and we can come down a bit from what happened and we’ll figure out a good way to send off our friend Magnus, okay? I do have some work to take care of, first, but you go on ahead in there…”

“Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart,” Merle sobbed, one hand pressed to his chest as he stumbled his way to Lucretia’s office.

The door shut behind Merle and Lucretia stood, taking an unsteady breath. Looking over her shoulder, she motioned for the guards and Davenport to continue with what they were doing. “Go on,” she said. “I’ll be back soon.”

Then, without another look backwards, Lucretia hurried towards the prison dome and made her way to deliver the news of Magnus to Taako.

* * *

Taako didn’t even look up as he heard the elevator doors open for the fourth time that day. He was seated on the floor of his cell, not doing anything and trying his hardest to convince himself that he didn’t exist. But no matter how much he wished he could have just disappeared, Taako knew he couldn’t escape whatever confrontation was approaching him. Lucretia had swept through the barrier that kept him imprisoned with such a distraught look on her face that Taako knew he couldn’t ignore what she was going to say if he tried; and so, he finally lifted his gaze and met his old friend’s eyes.

“Taako, I know you’re still angry with me about earlier-” Lucretia said, holding a hand out as if it would keep Taako’s wrath at bay until she was finished speaking. “-but there’s something important that I need to tell you.”

Taako shrugged and lifted an eyebrow at her, forcing his voice to take on a disinterested monotone. “Yeah?”

Tapping her staff several times on the metal floor, Lucretia raised a hand to hide her face and closed her eyes tight. “Magnus is dead,” she spat out, before she could lose her nerve.

A long silence followed, and Lucretia’s curiosity eventually got the better of her and she lowered her hand from her face and opened her eyes to look at Taako whose own face had gone pale. Taako stared up at Lucretia with unblinking eyes that didn’t want to believe a word she had just said. But as the seconds ticked by and Taako saw Lucretia’s face crumple into deeper and deeper lines of guilt and despair, he couldn’t ignore the roiling feeling in his gut that told him what she had said was true. Magnus was dead.

“Magnus is dead?” Taako echoed, his throat dry as he uttered the words. He tried to swallow around the dryness, but it didn’t help.

Lucretia nodded, closing her eyes as a few tears finally slipped their way out between her lashes. “He didn’t make it out of Wonderland.”

Taako laughed; a short, breathless, humorless laugh that found no amusement in any of what was happening. “You…” Taako shook his head, staring into space because looking anywhere else was too painful. “Well, I hope you’re happy.”

“Don’t do that,” Lucretia sighed, her voice shaking.

“Do what? Get angry?” Taako jumped to his feet suddenly, pointing a finger in Lucretia’s direction. “I fucking told you not to send Magnus and Merle in there!”

“What was I supposed to do? Just let those liches keep the Animus Bell?” Lucretia was crying in earnest by then, tears running down her face as she looked into Taako’s enraged eyes.

“Goddammit, Lucretia!” Taako pounded his fist against the table covered in junk, toppling over an array of knickknacks. “You know, I just- Just- Just. Fuck. This. You know? You know what I mean?”

Lucretia shook her head. “Taako, I-”

“You just don’t get it!” Taako pounded the table again, wincing as a stray pen jabbed his hand. “You- You wanted to try your own plan for stopping the Hunger? Great! You erased everyone’s memories so we couldn’t say no? Awesome. Tricked us into working for you and thinking Barry was our enemy for over a year? Jolly good. But Magnus is dead now. Magnus is _dead_. And he’s not coming back this time! Congratulations, Lucretia, really fucking stellar job on this one.”

“You really think I wanted this!?” Lucretia shouted, pressing a hand to her chest and feeling her own heartbeat hammer back at her.

“God, it doesn’t matter what you wanted!” Taako threw his head back and shouted to the ceiling before turning to look at Lucretia. “This is what happened! Don’t you realize that your intentions are for shit!?”

Silence broke over the two again, and Taako turned his back to Lucretia. He stood with his hands on his hips, eyes surveying the table loaded with junk before him. Then, in one deft motion, Taako stuck an arm out and swiped every single stray bit of paper and useless tchotchke off the table so that they clattered to the floor with the abrasive crash of a sudden rainstorm hitting against a feeble tin roof.

Lucretia stood paralyzed with shock and grief, only able to watch as Taako then crumbled to the ground and buried his face in his knees. It was at that point Lucretia realized that Taako was crying, too. The sight of it horrified Lucretia; she’d only ever seen Taako cry a select few times, on the particularly hopeless days of their century aboard The Starblaster. It was so rare to see Taako let himself be vulnerable around others that Lucretia barely even knew how to respond to it.

“Taako…” she began to move towards him, but stopped when he looked up at her and shook his head.

“Just go,” he said, wiping at his eyes and smearing his multi-colored mascara all over his cheek.

Lucretia nodded and began to step away, pausing at the entrance of his cell to look back at Taako as he stared listlessly down at the cluttered mess sprawled out on the floor.

“Taako, I’m sorry,” Lucretia said, wiping away the tears that stained her own cheeks.

“I know that you’re sorry, can you please just leave me alone?” Taako snapped his head towards Lucretia, and she saw in his eyes that he was drawing closer and closer to his breaking point.

Although she hated to leave Taako alone at that moment, Lucretia remembered that there were other matters that she needed to attend to. She thought about making some comment about how Magnus’ death wouldn’t be in vain, but knew that it would be well-received from Taako in the best of circumstances. And they were far from the best of circumstances. So, instead, Lucretia murmured a quiet word of parting and then turned and left. Once she was gone, Taako buried his face in his hands and sobbed into the cage of his fingers. All of his efforts had been a waste, and Taako felt he had nothing left to fight for.

* * *

Bo Didley walked through the static moat, unsure of how many times he’d circled around the Imperial City or if he had even managed that once yet. The terrain was unchanging, and each time he thought he’d gotten his bearings, it seemed as if he’d just turned himself around again.

There were important things about himself that Bo couldn’t remember, things that should have been occupying most of his concentration. But by and by the one mystery that seemed to have captured his particular interest was the question of why he wasn’t wearing a shirt. The heat around him was oppressive and stifling enough, but it didn’t seem like it was enough to warrant partial nudity.

 _Maybe that’s just the kind of guy I am_. Bo wondered, but he wasn’t so sure. There were strange markings all over his skin, that looked like a map to something, that he was thinking must have been important to him at some point but that he couldn’t remember why that was.

As Bo pondered this, he noticed a movement in the patterns lacing over his skin. The design was shifting, so that a bit of the map was settled on the back of Bo’s hand. Bo peered down at the segment of the map and saw that it was a haphazard circle looping lazily across his hand, a raised bump appearing to signify...something. After a moment, a new color bloomed under his skin amidst the black lines of the map. A glowing blue dot, poised on the circle on his hand, pulsed on the map.

The details clicked into place on by one. The map had shifted to show Bo where he was, the raised bump was him. The circle must have been the moat he was trapped in. And the glowing dot...Bo didn’t know what the glowing blue dot could have been, but it was a better lead than he had before which was nothing. Stepping forward, Bo walked towards the blue dot on the map.

Bo’s mysterious destination turned out not to be that far off, and the closer he drew to the blue glow on the map, the more convinced he was that he was about to step into something pivotal. The static in the air was thinning out more and more with every step he took, and when Bo looked up from the map every now and then to get his bearings, he noticed a faint blue light filling the space around him as it pulsed in and out at a steady pace.

At last, Bo’s raised bumped was right on top of the glowing dot, and Bo looked around in the now almost blinding blue light that had chased the static away. After a short search, Bo found the source of the light. There, carved into the inner wall of the moat, was a cavern. Bo walked up to the opening, but found that it was barred. Craning his head to the side, Bo looked into the darkness that was punctuated by blue light like frosty breaths on a cold winter’s day. Inside, he could make out the shape of something moving slightly.

“Hello?” Bo called to the unknown creature.

A desperate hum sounded from the darkness almost immediately, and then Bo was certain. There was something living imprisoned there, something that had been put there by Governor Ravenous. Memories of a dead dog filled Bo’s head suddenly and he gasped. He could remember. In that blue light coming off of that creature in that dark prison, Bo could remember _everything_.

Filled with a sudden urgency he’d forgotten he had, Bo seized the bars of the prison in both hands and with a mighty pull, pried an opening large enough for him to make his way inside.

Once inside, Bo found himself standing at the edge of a still pool of water. In the crystal reflection the pool provided, Bo saw a perfect image of himself. Then, looking up, he saw the source of the blue light laying on an island raised in the middle of the water. It was a large jellyfish, a blue light within illuminating a swirling galaxies of twinkling stars in the expanse of its body.

Without another moment’s hesitation, Bo trudged into the water and made his way over to the jellyfish. The water was shallow and cold, biting at Bo’s legs like sharp teeth after the clinging heat of the desert he’d been in for the past few days. Hauling himself onto dry land, Bo knelt before the great jellyfish and pressed his head against its side.

The fish reacted to Bo’s presence immediately. Lifting a tendril to Bo’s forehead, a wave of blue light overtook his vision. When it settled, Bo found that he not only knew the way out of the Trench of the Forgotten but that he knew what it was he had to do once he got out of it, as well.

Reacting to the presence of this new knowledge, the map on Bo’s body shifted once more. The lines converged to present a new route onto the back of Bo’s hand, this one detailing the innermost keep of Governor Ravenous’ palace. There, amidst the twisting lines of an impossible labyrinth that spelled doom to all who dared enter, was a glowing green dot that marked Bo’s next destination.

* * *

As soon as the Director’s office door closed behind him, Merle’s crocodile tears dried up and he let out a sigh of disbelief that his schtick had worked. Flipping his bag open, Merle tapped the Pocket Spa and sent Barry and Angus tumbling out in a tangle of limbs. The two landed with individual thuds on the blue carpet of the Director’s office floor, each rubbing various spots on the body that had collided with the sharp edges of Lucretia’s ornate interior decorating scheme.

Angus got to his feet first, and looked around the office while Barry and Merle bickered quietly behind him. Walking over to the Director’s desk, Angus found what he had been looking for when he spied Taako’s notebook set on the corner of the desk. Snatching the notebook, Angus tucked it safely under his arm, determined to return it to Taako the second he got the chance.

“Once you’ve made it into the Director’s office, you’re gonna need to move past that big heavy door in there to move back into her private sanctum. And once you get back there, you will be trespassing, so I guess, well, I guess this is kind of the point of no return.”

Angus turned around at the sound of Barry’s voice, and saw that the words were emitting from an obviously magic coin that Merle held aloft between two fingers. Furrowing his brow, Angus looked to the in-the-flesh Barry Bluejeans he had spent the past fifteen minutes making awkward small talk with in the Pocket Spa and squinted at him.

“Why couldn’t you have just told us that yourself?” Angus asked.

“Uh, well, I gotta be honest…” Barry blushed, rubbing at the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I don’t remember ever having said any of that? Like, I barely know what I’m doing here right now. I sort of just got into this ole flesh suit you’re seeing here, and I lost a lot of memories in the process, I guess?”

“Wait, you weren’t corporeal until recently?” Angus asked. “Were you ever a red-robed ghost?”

“Was I ever a what?”

“Yes,” Merle supplied the answer. “Yeah, he was the Red Robe that was stalking me n’ the boys for a while there. Well, once Taako got sent to the clink, it was just me n’ the boy but you get the idea.”

Angus looked at Barry in a new light, taking in his denim clad appearance and connecting with a minute detail he’d heard Taako mention in the sweeping narration of his story. “Sildar?” Angus whispered, his eyes widening in disbelief.

“Who?” Barry looked more confused than ever.

“Nothing, um,” Angus bit his lip, suppressing the urge to smile triumphantly. “I think I know who you are, Barry.”

“Oh, well, what a relief,” Barry half laughed, half backed away in apprehension.

“Look, not that this isn’t fun but we’ve got a heist to pull off,” Merle gestured towards the heavy door at the back of the room.

Barry and Angus nodded in agreement, heading back with Merle as the dwarf threw the door open. This time, Angus was prepared, and cast Silence on the alarm before any of them even set foot into the long hallway that lay before them.

“Careful,” Angus warned Barry and Merle. “The floor triggers an illusion as a security precaution.”

With that warning in mind, Barry and Merle stepped into the hallway unbothered by the trip mechanism. Angus followed suit, keeping his focus on the alarm which was silently blaring under his spell. The three of them made their way down the hall to the vault door and the twelve pedestals and stopped. The coin sputtered to life again with an intricate set of instructions for how to solve the puzzle, and Angus still couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“Welp, I’m not doing all that,” Merle said, digging in his bag and taking out yet another one of Taako’s confiscated magic items. “How about this instead?”

With a toss of his hand, Merle used the Hole Thrower and created a ten foot hole right in the middle of the vault door. Angus blinked in amazement at how easily Merle bypassed the puzzle that had gotten him caught, and followed the two adults into the vault with amazement still plastered on his face.

The space inside the vault looked like a more composite version of Lucretia’s main office. There was an organized desk set up inside, with two even stacks of journals on it and two open journals set open to blank pages beside them with two inkwells and feather quills to match. Also on the desk was a symbol hovering above a disk, spinning slowly and emanating a powerful surge of holy force.

In the corner of the room, Angus spied a small tank of water. It was glowing from within, a strange green light he couldn’t quite wrap his vision around. As the narration from the coin piped back up, Angus moved towards the tank and- without needing to be told -dipped his hand in and brought a mouthful of the murky water to his lips and drank.

The effect was instant. Angus blinked his eyes a few times and when he looked back into the tank, he saw a baby voidfish bobbing around inside. This time, Angus couldn’t wrestle down the smile that broke across his face. He had been right.

Taking the notebook out from under his arm, Angus opened it to a random page and began to read the handwritten story that Taako had scribbled there.

He understood every word.


	10. Deus Ex Machina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sildar Hallwinter gives a piggyback ride. Angus leads a jailbreak. Taako tells the truth.

“Thank you for carrying me, sir!” Angus McDonald said as he clutched his arms around Sildar’s shoulders. “My short height is useful for helping me sneak into tight spots, but not very useful for travelling long distances in a hurry.”

“Don’t mention it,” Sildar replied, wiping a few errant raindrops from his spectacles. The closer the two unlikely allies drew to the Imperial City’s walls, the more the storm overhead thinned out. At that point in their journey, the raging downpour had thinned out to an overcast drizzle.

The Trench of the Forgotten loomed in the distance like a stranger encountered on a narrow ridge; it demanded to be met, and there was no way to get past without addressing it in some manner. Static rippled off the top of the moat, buzzing and crackling in the air. But as Sildar came to the edge of that fathomless abyss, he noticed there was a new sight to behold amidst the static.

A blue glowing light was cutting through the static, moving along the width of the moat as if searching for something. Sildar set Angus down at his side and leaned over the edge of the trench to inspect the approaching light in more focus. Angus, though, reacted with caution and drew Sildar back from the edge of the trench.

“Careful, sir, that static will still poke holes in your brain,” Angus warned.

“Why couldn’t I see that blue light before?” Sildar asked, raking through his memories of the trench to try and find one inkling of that strange glow’s existence before that moment.

“It wasn’t relevant to your story,” Angus said, clicking his heels and standing at attention as he screwed his face into an inquisitive expression. “Now, the question is: How do we get your friends out?”

“What!? I thought you had a plan?” Sildar exclaimed.

“No,” Angus shook his head. “No, I only said I would help you. I never said I knew how to solve all of your problems. I’m only a little boy.”

“Right, well, you make a good point,” Sildar sighed, gazing down at the trench. “Let’s try and figure this out…”

As Sildar and Angus conferred on the best way to rescue the other bandits, another reunion was beginning to unfold in the trench below.

The Gap-Tooth Bandit sat motionless against one side of the trench, unable to find the wherewithal to keep going any longer. In his hands, he held the fortune that had fallen from the heavens, still unable to decipher its meaning. The message was simple enough: that there are always more than two options; but the Gap-Tooth Bandit couldn’t figure out what the choices he’d have to make were supposed to be.

As he sat contemplating this, the Gap-Tooth Bandit noticed a change in that static. Turning his head to the left, he watched as a blue glow began to permeate the buzzing air that was all around him. The Gap-Tooth Bandit rose to his feet in alarm; and as the glow inched closer, the static in his head began to clear as well. Memories of standing marooned on a desert island, and of searching for a sister who couldn’t be found, and of falling from a great height amidst a black storm all flooded into the bandit’s skull as he stood dumbfounded in the blistering sand.

“Gap-Tooth!” a familiar voice called out to him, shaking the Gap-Tooth Bandit out of his stupor.

He looked up and saw, emerging from that thickening glow, Bo Didley running towards him with a great blue jellyfish at his heels.

“Bo?” Gap-Tooth murmured, feeling himself lurch towards his towering friend on instinct. Before the Gap-Tooth Bandit could take another step forward, Bo was on him, hoisting the smaller man up into his arms and swinging him in a circle.

“I thought I’d seen the last of you!” Bo exclaimed, setting Gap-Tooth down on his feet.

“Me too, I-” Gap-Tooth’s eyes roved over the sight of his fellow bandit in astonishment. “Wait,” he said suddenly. “Where are the other bandits? What happened to Death? Where-”

“I don’t know,” Bo shook his head. “I couldn’t find Leeman in here, it’s like he’s vanished. We found you no problem. Sildar and Death, I thought I saw escape; but I’m not sure. The captain, he’s with...Well, you know who he’s with.”

“ _The Chronicler._ ” Gap-Tooth sneered the name out as if it were poison on his tongue. Remembering in detail what had happened, the Gap-Tooth Bandit felt his fingers dig into Bo’s bare arm where he was holding himself up. The realization that one of the only people in all of existence who meant anything to him had betrayed his trust in the worst way possible ached in his chest like a wound that wouldn’t close no matter how tightly he bandaged it up. “She betrayed us…” he seethed through clenched teeth.

“I know,” Bo said. “But we can’t let vengeance distract us, we have to make things right. We need to find the others.”

The Gap-Tooth Bandit clenched his hands into fists, bringing his arms down rigid against his sides. “Find the others,” he echoed. The memory of his sister’s smiling face flashed through his mind, and the Gap-Tooth Bandit had to swallow back a sob. Reaching up, he pulled the strings of his mask as tight as they would go.

“You’re right, Bo,” Gap-Tooth nodded. “I can’t let anything distract me.”

“Great!” Bo clapped the Gap-Tooth Bandit on the back. “Then, let’s get the hell out of this trench.”

The Gap-Tooth Bandit scoffed. “And just how do you suggest we do that?”

Not saying another word, Bo grinned and grabbed Gap-Tooth by the scruff of his neck. Hauling his fellow bandit back with him, Bo lifted them both astride the glowing blue jellyfish. As if on cue from some unspoken command, the jellyfish began to rise up from the depths of the Trench of the Forgotten. The higher the odd trio rose, the clearer the air became until Bo Didley and the Gap-Tooth Bandit were staring directly into the faces of Sildar Hallwinter and Angus McDonald.

“Well, that was easier than I thought,” Sildar said, his face splitting into a wide smile as he realized it was his friends who had appeared before him.

“Another mystery solved!” Angus announced proudly.

The Gap-Tooth Bandit squinted down at the child next to Sildar from where he lay slung over the side of the blue jellyfish. “Who are you!?” he demanded, turning up his nose in suspicion.

“I’m Angus McDonald, sir,” Angus said, sticking out his hand to Gap-Tooth as the bandit jumped down onto solid ground. “Don’t you recognize me?”

“Mmm, should I?” Gap-Tooth lifted his eyebrows above his mask, smirking down at the young boy.

“Well, you-” Angus paused, giving the Gap-Tooth Bandit a long stare. “Maybe you’d remember better if you took off that ridiculous mask.”

“The mask stays,” Gap-Tooth replied with an irritated huff, turning his gaze to Sildar. “Where’d you find this kid, Hallwinter?”

“I didn’t, he found me,” Sildar replied. “Said he could help us.”

“Right, I believe that,” Gap-Tooth flung his long braid over his shoulder and whirled around to peer up at the towering walls of the Imperial City and the drawbridge that was still pulled closed. “So, what’s the plan? How are we going to bust in this time?”

“Could we all ride the jellyfish up?” Angus asked, pointing to where Bo was still sitting on top of his new floating friend.

“Uh, no can do on that one,” Bo said, dismounting at last and walking towards his allies. “I don’t think Fisher can handle that much weight.”

“Fisher?” Gap-Tooth gave Bo an amused look. “You named it?”

“Why not?” Bo said, reaching out to give Fisher a pat. “It’s not like any of us are going by our real names anymore.”

“I am!” Angus waved his hand.

“Right, whatever,” Gap-Tooth pushed Angus’ hand down. “This all still leaves the question of how we’re going to get inside. Because, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not all geared up to try another tightrope act.”

“Um, I don’t think we’ll have to,” Sildar spoke up, pushing his way to the front of the group and pointing up towards the closed drawbridge. The other bandits followed Sildar’s finger and looked over to see the gate to the Imperial City slowly lowering down over the Trench of the Forgotten.

“This feels like a trap,” Angus said as the drawbridge settled flat across the moat with a heavy thud.

“Maybe, but it looks like our only way in,” Bo replied.

“Gap-Tooth, what do you think?” Sildar asked.

The Gap-Tooth Bandit threw a look over his shoulder, grinning at his sparse allies. “We’re going,” he said, and headed towards the Imperial City.

* * *

Alarms blared overhead, the Silence charm having long since run out. Angus turned to where Barry and Merle were inoculating themselves against the baby voidfish.

“Sirs, I think we’re gonna have company real soon,” Angus said, glancing anxiously over his shoulder.

“That’s okay,” Barry finished screwing the cap back onto the flask he was using, grasping the side of his head and wincing as if he had a migraine. “Merle, please, can you do something about that holy symbol before I-?”

“Huh? Oh, sure, sure…” Merle nodded sagely, walking over to Lucretia’s desk and knocking the holy symbol over so it clattered to the floor in two pieces. “That good?”

“That’s great,” Barry sighed in relief, straightening up a bit.

“Great,” Merle said sarcastically. “Now, can we get back to the part where we’re about to get arrested?”

“Jeez, um,” Barry pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, things are set into motion now and we just gotta go with the flow. Merle, you’re gonna start remembering soon, but please just take it slow. Please, I’m begging you. You gotta take it slow.”

“Remembering…?” Angus stared at Merle for a long moment before gasping in realization. “Holy shit, you really are Leeman Kessler!”

“Uh, yeah? Didn’t we solve this one, like, a year ago?” Merle asked.

“No, it’s not what you- Wow,” Angus pressed a hand to his forehead in exhilaration; all of the details were coming together. Angus had always suspected certain roles in Taako’s story for the real life people they resembled, but it was another experience entirely to have his suspicions confirmed in a way that was concrete and real and right in front of him.

As he stood in quiet amazement, Angus’ gaze snagged on an object that was leaning up against the wall opposite to him. Dropping his hand from his face, Angus walked towards the object and slipped the polished handle into his grip. It was the umbra staff. He hadn’t seen it since that fateful day many months prior when he’d first asked the Director’s permission to visit Taako.

It had been such a simple prospect back then: Go and visit Taako, find out why he had been imprisoned. Angus had assumed the story was just a ruse Taako had made up to screw with him, a way to pull off yet another goof from behind bars. But still, there had been something in Taako’s insistence that the story would give Angus the answers he needed that Angus had opened himself up to the possibility of being made a fool of. Angus had never imagined that a story about spoon-swiping bandits would lead him down the path he found himself on then. But good stories were like that, Angus thought. Always taking you someplace new, where you never imagined yourself going.

“Lup.”

The single word broke Angus out of his reverie. Whipping around, Angus saw that Barry was coming towards him with a shaking hand stretched out towards the umbra staff. Angus reflexively pulled the umbrella close to his chest, angling himself to the side and giving Barry a cautious glare.

“What does ‘Lup’ mean?” Angus asked. “What is that?”

Barry stopped in his tracks, holding his hands out at his sides to show Angus he wasn’t going to make a grab for the umbra staff. “Lup isn’t a thing,” he explained. “Lup is a person.”

Angus’ gaze flicked to where Merle was clutching at his own head and then looked back at Barry. “Who are they?”

“She’s Taako’s twin sister,” Barry said, speaking slowly as if he himself were just remembering it. It occurred to Angus that it was entirely possible that was the case. “That staff was hers. She took it with her...she went missing…”

“Taako found that in a cave,” Merle chimed in, wincing as he spoke. “It was on some skeleton in a red robe.”

Angus gasped, a crucial piece of the puzzle finally snapping into place. “The Red Bandit,” he whispered, voice full of reverence.

“What?” Barry shook his head in confusion. “Kid, you gotta stop saying random words and not telling people what they mean.”

“I have to get this to Taako,” Angus said, stepping up to Barry and holding the umbra staff out to him. “Please, sir, you have to help me. This was his sister’s, he should have it.”

Barry took a breath to speak, and then paused. The sound of thundering footsteps suddenly flooded the long corridor outside of the vault. Angus, Barry, and Merle all turned towards the hole in the door and leaned over each other to look out and see a score of Bureau guards coming towards them at a rapid pace.

Barry turned back to Angus and, putting his hands on the umbra staff for the first time, shoved the magic weapon back into the young boy’s secure hold. “You hang on to that,” Barry insisted, his voice frantic as the footsteps outside drew closer and closer. “We’ll figure out a way to get it to Taako, but right now we’ve gotta play it as safe as we can.”

Angus was about to ask a question, but at that moment, the guards came flooding into the room from the hole in the door. There was a great deal of barking instructions and being corralled by irate guards as the trio of intruders were escorted out of the Director’s private sanctum and shuffled into the main room of the administrative dome. There, the Director knelt on top of the dais; she was hunched over her white oak staff, channeling some sort of spell from the orb that contained the Animus Bell.

As soon as Lucretia pulled into view, Barry broke away from the crowd of guards and charged at her. Lucretia looked up briefly, her face contracting in shock at seeing Barry, but she didn’t break her concentration on the spell she was channelling. Barry never even got a chance to lay a hand on the Director; Davenport, ever by Lucretia’s side, had charged right back at Barry and the two tussled for a moment before the guards dragged Barry back to stand with Merle and Angus.

“What happened to going with the flow?” Angus whispered up at Barry.

“Just trust that I know what I’m doing,” Barry whispered back, tugging on his bluejeans to straighten them out as he huffed from the exertion of fighting Davenport.

Beside Angus and Barry, Merle let out a shocked gasp, clutching at his head as he stared in disbelief at Lucretia’s white oak staff.

Lucretia looked back at Merle, concern creasing her face as realization shone in her eyes. “Oh my gods,” she murmured. “Did you- Did you inoculate yourselves?”

“Yes,” Merle said, pressing the heel of his palm against his forehead. “We did.”

Lucretia started saying something about remembering too much at once, and how Merle wouldn’t be able to handle it. While she was distracted with worry over Merle, Barry spoke the word “Drink” while his eyes locked on Davenport. Angus, who had been studying advanced spells as his own training progressed, recognized the form of the spell Command and watched as Davenport began to raise the flask Barry had filled with the baby voidfish’s ichor to his lips and drink.

Lucretia, noticing Barry speaking but not what he had said, snapped her attention to him with a suspicious glare. “What did you say?” she demanded, looking to Angus for a hint. But the boy had redirected his attention to the spell that was being channelled into Lucretia’s staff, his expression carefully focused on the white magic that coursed through Lucretia’s fingertips.

“Lucretia, you gotta help Merle remember,” Barry said, dodging her question entirely. “His mind’s gonna shatter if you don’t.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Lucretia asked, a brief look of anger passing over her face. “After you inoculated Taako, I was the one who had to help him get his memories back.”

“Okay, well, you’ve gotta do it again,” Barry said. “After everything you’ve done, you owe that much back. You already have all the relics, just help Merle remember now, please.”

Lucretia took a deep breath, but ultimately nodded along with Barry’s request. Angus listened with rapt attention as she detailed a tale of a team from another reality exploring the planar system, pursued by a destructive force that caused them to make the Grand Relics.

It was a shock and it wasn’t, learning that the creators of the relics were people Angus had known all along. Angus swung between dropping his mouth open in surprise and bursting in with his own narration to accompany Lucretia’s. The details were somewhat muddied but altogether, the memories Lucretia was unloading on the room matched Taako’s story too well to be a coincidence.

Angus realized at full impact, for the first time, that this meant everything Taako had put into the story was true. The overpowered, unbeatable enemy. The loss of a beloved sister. The betrayal of an ally and friend. The missing memories. It was all real.

“So, those are six of us,” Lucretia had just finished describing her plan to create a barrier that would stop the Hunger, and sounded as if she were wrapping up her own tale. “Me, Barry, Lup, Taako, Merle, Magnus, and, of course, the seventh. Our captain. When I redacted the logs to feed to the second voidfish, I let you keep your names while eradicating any information pertaining to the mission. But, for our captain, his life was the mission. He was impossible to edit around and so, unfortunately, his name was all he kept.”

Lucretia began to gesture to her side, and jumped back with a start as the sound of a flask clattering to the ground interrupted her. Davenport stood, wiping some ichor from the flask that Barry must have tucked into his hand away from his mouth.

“Lucretia…” Davenport said, shaking his head. “What have you done?”

* * *

The captain looked over at the Chronicler, watching as she meticulously molded the seven silver spoons together into a malleable ball that shone in the desert sun. The two of them had paused atop the wall of the Imperial City, the Chronicler wanted to prepare her defense before moving forward.

The Chronicler pulled at the mound of silver in her hands, the soft metal crisscrossing into a half-formed net. To the captain, it looked more like a cage than a shield. How easily the two concepts could overlap. She had explained the concept to the captain in hurried words, something about shielding the world from Governor Ravenous, but the captain couldn’t really understand what she had been talking about. Even then, he couldn’t bring himself to pay much attention to what she was doing. Over his shoulder, he had spied a gaggle of figures standing at the bottom of the wall. For some reason, the sight of the motley crew below triggered an instinctive reaction in the captain and he felt as he there was something he had to do to help them.

“Something’s missing…” the Chronicler muttered, looking at the netting in her hands. “We never did find the spoon the Red Bandit stole, did we, captain?”

But when the Chronicler looked up, all she was was the retreating back of the captain in the distance. He was booking it towards the controls that would lower the gate over the moat. Standing up in a rush, the Chronicler leaned over the wall and saw her fellow bandits gathered at the bottom. Before they could spy her, the Chronicler ran in the opposite direction of the captain. She knew that if she risked stopping him, she risked being stopped herself if the other bandits reached her before she had time to get the situation back under her control.

The captain, tugging at the lever at the top of the wall, set the gate lowering with a determination he had forgotten he was able to muster. As he performed this act of helping his crew, the captain began to remember who he was. The gate lowered over the Trench of the Forgotten, and the bandits below waved up in recognition of their captain.

* * *

Before anyone could react to what Lucretia had just revealed, the doors to the main dome kicked in as Carey, Killian, and NO-3113 burst inside. Everyone within the dome looked outside and saw the terror that was besieging the Bureau of Balance campus, a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions was destroying the moon base and the members who called it home.

Lucretia was distracted from the horror happening outside, though. As the doors had burst open to reveal the havoc outside, they had also reveal the figure of Magnus rushing into the dome. Lucretia gasped, her face breaking into the first genuine smile Angus had ever seen from her as long as he’d worked for the Bureau.

But Lucretia’s momentary joy was short-lived, as the scene outside grabbed everyone’s attention back. Angus looked out and saw shadowy beings crawling all over the campus, attacking unsuspecting Bureau members. Tendrils of solid black opal shot from the sky, latching onto every available surface as pillars of living darkness. Carey, Killian, and NO-3113 quickly slammed the doors shut and began to barricade the entrance, and Angus ran to help.

Behind him, Angus could hear the sound of the recently reunited IPRE team fighting amongst themselves. Barry had run over to Magnus as soon as he’d come in and helped him get inoculated. With everyone’s memories back intact, all of the old dynamics they had forgotten had come back in full force. Lucretia was desperately trying to convince her friends to let her cast her barrier, and everyone else was arguing against her. Angus hadn’t thought he had much right to contribute to their argument; but when he heard Davenport talk about leaving that planar system on their ship, Angus couldn’t keep quiet.

“No, wait, sir,” Angus turned around and ran over to where Davenport was leaning up against a crouching Barry so he wouldn’t topple over. “You can’t go,” he said, looking to Magnus and Merle. “Sirs, don’t leave us to this, please.”

“I’m sorry, kid, it’s the end of the world out there…” Davenport clapped a hand to Angus’ shoulder and shook his head. “If we get stuck here in all this, then it’s over for every other planar system. We just- Lucretia, where’s The Starblaster?”

Lucretia took a step back from the others, still channelling the barrier spell into her staff. “Listen, everyone, I know I’ve put you through a lot and you don’t believe that my plan will work; but I have to finish this. I’m sorry.”

The transparent shield that had been around Lucretia went suddenly opaque, and then she vanished from sight.

“Dammit,” Davenport sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay, look gang, I know I’ve been out of commission for a while now, but I’m still your captain and I swear, if you listen to me, I can get us out of this.”

The group nodded their assent and Davenport began giving out orders to the different pairings gathered around him. Carey, NO-3113, and Killian ran off to secure the base; Merle and Magnus were sent with the baby voidfish to go see if they could disable the memory altering field; and Davenport assigned himself to try and find Lucretia in the hopes of talking her out of casting her barrier.

“Angus and Barry,” Davenport turned to the last two people gathered before him. “First things first, I need you two to go and bust Taako out of his jail cell. If this is going to work, we’re going to need his help. Then, I want you all to set to work finding The Starblaster so we at least have _some_ options.”

“Right,” Barry nodded, putting his arm around Angus and steering the young boy out onto the campus.

As soon as the two set foot outside, a black pillar slammed down inches from where they stood.

Barry cast a few defensive spells over his shoulder, ushering Angus towards the prison dome as quickly as possible. The shadowy figures only seemed to grow in number, several of them crowding towards Barry and Angus as they reached the small dome that led down to the prison cells.

“You go ahead,” Barry called to Angus, who had reached the entrance to the dome before him. “I’ll hold these guys off. Go and get Taako!”

“Are you sure, sir?” Angus asked, looking at the frightening spectres as they began to close in around Barry.

“Don’t worry about me, kid, I’ll be fine,” Barry smiled. “I’ll come down as soon as I can, but you’ve gotta hurry. Now, get going before it’s too late!”

Angus gave Barry a parting nod before turning and running into the prison dome. Smashing the button on the wall, Angus spun into the elevator as soon as the doors opened. The doors closed and Angus leaned back against the cool metal wall, letting himself breathe for the first time in what felt like hours. The ride down seemed to take much longer than usual to Angus, and he began to wonder if the Hunger had somehow tampered with the machinery. But eventually, the elevator doors pinged open just as they had every other time Angus had gone to visit Taako. Clutching the umbra staff in one hand and Taako’s notebook in the other, Angus stepped out of the elevator and began walking down the rows of cells.

* * *

Leeman Kessler had fallen into the Trench of the Forgotten, just the same as his friends had. He’d forgotten like them and had wandered aimlessly through fields of static like them. Unlike his friends, though, Leeman didn’t have to search for a way out of the Imperial City’s moat; a way out came to him.

However long he’d spent in the trench, Leeman’s imprisonment was abruptly cut short. Suddenly, he was no longer wandering in aimless circles and wondering about who he was. Instead, he was smacking face-first into a black opal floor after a crack of lightning had struck right over his head.

Looking around at the room of polished black opal he had landed in, Leeman felt memories flood into his head. Memories of that place and who he had been during his time there in the past...and memories of the man he’d once called friend, standing before him once again at that moment.

Governor Ravenous had once been a handsome man, his endearing charisma the very thing that had helped him rise to power. But the poison of want had slowly diminished his outward appearance to reflect his internal corruption. The more dependent Ravenous became on the power of the Imperial City where he was enthroned, the less he resembled his former self. Crags of black opal jutted across his skin at marring angles, desperately cloying for complete control of their figurehead. But the most startling aspect of Ravenous’ transformation was that, through it all, he still looked human. Despite how far he’d disassociated from who he had once been, Ravenous was still just a man at the center of a power he couldn't control.

“Leeman Kessler,” Governor Ravenous smiled. “Would you believe it if I said I am actually happy to see you, old friend?”

Leeman rose slowly to his feet, taking the time to recover from the shock of seeing Ravenous again. Once Leeman had regained his composure, he scoffed as if he weren’t intimidated by his situation whatsoever.

“You always were happiest when you thought you had the upper hand,” Leeman said, brushing past the much taller man to go out onto the balcony.  

“Don’t I?” Ravenous chuckled, following Leeman outside. “Your friends are scattered, you’re here as my prisoner, and I have complete control of this realm. How am I mistaken in thinking I have the upper hand?”

Leeman shook his head, looking out at the sprawling desert that lay beyond the black opal walls. Dark clouds blocked the skies from view, casting the outlying districts in complete darkness as sheets of rain flooded them into oblivion. The Imperial City was the eye of the hurricane, the still point of calm amidst a turbulent storm.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Governor Ravenous asked when Leeman remained silent. The two were standing side by side at the balcony railing, mere inches apart.

“I don’t believe that you really think this is right,” Leeman said, looking up at his friend.

“Not this again,” Ravenous rolled his eyes, pushing off of the railing and turning back inside. “Kessler, you can believe whatever you’d like about me and you’ll be wrong. You think this is a choice, what I’ve done; but it’s merely a forced reaction against the arbitrary way this universe is ordered. Whether you think I am doing the right thing or not has no bearing on my actions.”

“Then, what am I doing here?” Leeman challenged.

Governor Ravenous paused with his back to Leeman, not saying a word. He sighed, the stoic frame of his shoulders deflating a bit. Ravenous looked back at his old friend, and Leeman saw regret fill the black opal man’s eyes. For a brief moment, Leeman could see again the person he’d once known before power had taken him over.

“John.” Leeman spoke Governor Ravenous’ true name, gazing back at his friend in understanding. He knew why the man who had become the villain in front of him wanted him there, at the end of the disordered universe. It wasn’t to gloat, it was to say goodbye.

When Governor Ravenous saw the pity in Leeman’s eye, though, his own expression turned sour. The glimmer of himself that had managed to escape was smothered once again under the insatiable hunger that Governor Ravenous had devoted himself to. Turning back around, Governor Ravenous strode briskly towards Leeman and outstretched one arm.

“I’ve brought you here for one reason only, Kessler,” Governor Ravenous smiled; an empty, sullen facade. “Collateral.”

Ravenous closed his fingers around Leeman’s neck, squeezing tight and lifting the dwarf off the ground with one arm. The two were eye-to-eye at last, and Leeman could see no more of his friend present in the gaze that held his.

* * *

Taako lay on the floor of his cell, his feet propped up against the wall so his body was contorted into a haphazard ‘L’ shape. After Lucretia had gone, Taako had let himself have a proper meltdown over losing Magnus; but he had tired himself out, and lay then staring up at the ceiling in blank misery through eyes puffy from crying. All around him was the junk he’d thrown to the ground in a fit of anger, sharp objects poking into his skin at all sides.

He had salvaged a single item from the wreckage, a children’s novel with an oversaturated cover advertising a mystery contained therein. It had been a Candlenights gift from Angus, so many months ago. At the time of receiving it, Taako had thought himself to be the clever one on the end of his scam. Now, Taako looked up at the book from where he held it aloft in one hand and realized all he had done was write a stupid story with vague hints and that Angus had been the one who had done all of the important work of solving what it meant. Even getting thrown in prison in the first place hadn’t been an act of valor on Taako’s part, he’d just been the one to get possessed by Barry. Nothing he had done his entire life had been heroic, he’d always just let other people risk their lives for his sake. Setting the book down on his chest, Taako closed his eyes in shame.

Taako was broken out of his downwards spiral into resentment and guilt by the sound of small feet pattering towards him. Cracking his sore eyes opening, Taako turned his head to the entrance of his cell and saw a harried Angus McDonald skid to a halt before him.

“Oh, it’s you,” Taako said, looking over the objects in Angus’ grip. The sight of his notebook twisted Taako’s gut, he felt stupid for ever having written that story and didn’t want to remember it. Then, he looked at Angus’ other hand and saw Lup’s umbra staff clutched there. At that, Taako felt a harsh giggle force its way up out of his mouth. “It fucking figures,” he shook his head, looking back up at the ceiling with a disbelieving smirk.

“Sir, we need your help,” Angus said, looking down in concern as his friend laid entangled in a pile of junk. “The Hunger is attacking and I need you to help me break you out of this cell so we can-”

“The Hunger?” Taako propped himself up on his elbows and twisted his torso around, lifting his eyebrows in Angus’ direction. “That’s some fresh terminology you’re using there. Who taught you that?”

“Your friends remember now, sir,” Angus reported. “Lucretia explained everything.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh, and is she still planning on doing her barrier spell?”

“Yes, and we-”

“Then, I don’t see what you need my help for. Sounds like you’ve already got everything figured out,” Taako collapsed back to the ground, letting his head smack hard against the metal tiles.

“No, sir, you know the barrier isn’t going to work.”

“Do I?” Taako flipped himself over and shot to his feet, striding up to the front of his cell so he stood directly across from Angus. “I didn’t figure out shit about how to stop the Hunger, it was all Lucretia, Lup, and Barry exchanging metaphysical mumbo jumbo. All I did was vote on the wrong side and get my memory blasted into oblivion for it.”

“But you got your memories back!”

“Yeah, because Barry possessed me and broke into Lucretia’s vault and made me drink Junior’s ichor,” Taako spat, not seeming concerned whether or not Angus understood any of what he was saying. “You’re all buddy-buddy with my crew now, I’m surprised you didn’t know that already.”

Angus held up the notebook. “But your story...You were trying to tell me-”

“That story was just a trick to get you to do something for me,” Taako said, fingernails digging into the cover of the Caleb Cleveland novel still clutched in his hand.

“No, sir, I figured it out-”

“No, kid, I fucking figured it out,” Taako cut Angus off with a horrible laugh. “I saw my opportunity and I took it. I saw a lonely, desperate little kid who was out to solve a mystery and I took that and used it to get you to do what I wanted. So there. I was never trying to help you ‘solve a mystery’ I just wanted to fuck up Lucretia’s plan. All I’m good at is revenge and deceit.”

“Well, do that now and help us fuck up Lucretia’s plan for good,” Angus felt his face flush hot with frustration and fear. He’d never seen Taako so angry before.

“Nah,” Taako shrugged, letting his face fall into a mask of disinterest.

“Why not?” Angus demanded.

“Don’t you get it? I am not your hero, kid!”

Angus shoved the notebook at Taako so the tip was poking through the barrier. “But in the story-”

“ _But in the story!_ ” Taako mocked, reaching out and snatching the notebook from Angus’ hand. “You’re so obsessed with this fucking story, do you want to know how it ends!?”

Angus shook his head, taking an involuntary step back from the dangerous tone of Taako’s voice. “I don’t think I do.”

Taako smirked, ugly and spiteful. “Well, we can’t always have what we want, can we?” he said; using his next breath to start up his narration, blind rage seeping into his words.

* * *

As the bandits on the ground crossed the bridge into the Imperial City, they looked up to see who had let them in. Up atop the black opal wall, stood their captain, waving down at them as their gazes reached up to him.

“Thanks a heap, cap!” Gap-Tooth shouted as he and his fellow bandits ran across the bridge. It seemed as if things were beginning to take a turn for the better.

Then, as if to prove the Gap-Tooth Bandit wrong, a sharp whizzing noise cut through the air over their heads. The bandits looked behind themselves just in time to dodge out of the way of a speeding black arrow as it soared up to the top of the wall. The bandits skidded to a halt and were unable to do anything but watch in horror as the arrow shot through the air and planted directly in the captain’s chest. The captain staggered for a moment, and then fell backwards, toppling over the edge of the wall and falling into the open entryway to the Imperial City where his body lay like a discarded rag doll.

Bo gave an anguished yell and ran to his captain’s side, picking the gnome up and cradling him to his chest. Sildar turned to see who had loosed the arrow and his eyes widened in terror as he saw that a flank of Governor Ravenous’ shadowy guard had materialized behind them on the bridge.

“Gap-Tooth, take Angus and go,” Sildar shouted, already running towards the guards. “I’ll hold them off as long as I can!”

“You can’t do that, it’s suicide!” Angus called to Sildar’s retreating back. Angus moved to run after his new friend, but Gap-Tooth caught him by the wrist and dragged him towards the Imperial City.

“You heard him,” Gap-Tooth said, tugging the child along easily. “We have to go.”

“But we can’t face Governor Ravenous on our own, we have to work together!” Angus protested. “Taako, wait-”

“That’s not my name!” the Gap-Tooth Bandit snarled, pulling Angus along without another word.

Bo was waiting for them at the entrance, holding the captain’s listless body in his arms while Fisher floated next to him.

“Bo, you have a mission, don’t you?” Gap-Tooth asked.

“Yes, but…” Bo hesitated, glancing at the map on his hand and then at the captain still shallowly breathing in his arms.

“Then do it,” Gap-Tooth insisted, not looking at his friend. “We’re finishing this.”

Bo nodded and ran ahead of them, into the depths of the Imperial City. Gap-Tooth watched his fellow bandit go, a grim expression of resignation pulling his lips into a sneer.

“He is going to his death,” Gap-Tooth said. “We’ll never see him again.”

Angus tried to tug himself out of the Gap-Tooth Bandit’s grip, but found it impossible to break free of. “Then, why would you send him there!?” he demanded.

“It’s the natural order of things,” the Gap-Tooth Bandit closed his eyes. “All living things must die. Now, come on,” he said, dragging Angus into the Imperial City which closed like an oppressive black opal hand around them. “We have a Chronicler to kill.”

* * *

“You’re making this up!” Angus shouted, banging on the barrier to get Taako to stop.

“Newsflash, kid, the whole thing’s been made up,” Taako said, flinging the notebook over his shoulder where it landed among the other junk on the floor. “It’s my story, I get to decide what happens. You want a happy ending? Stick with your Caleb Cleveland novels.”

With that, Taako tossed the book he’d been clutching down at Angus’ feet. Angus looked at the bright color of the book he’d gifted to Taako, and fought down the urge to cry. Looking back up at Taako, Angus set his mouth in a determined line.

“It’s my story, too,” Angus said.

“What?” Taako narrowed his eyes, pressing one hand up against the barrier so he could lean down to Angus’ level.

“I said: It’s my story, too,” Angus repeated. “I get a say in what happens, too.”

Taako laughed, straightening back up to his full height. “Yeah, okay, kid.”

Angus tapped the umbra staff once on the ground in irritation, never taking his eyes off of Taako. “Listen, I know it hurts that Lucretia lied to you and did all of this stuff that hurt you-”

“No. No, you don’t know how this feels-”

“Yes, I do!” Angus cut Taako off. “You just admitted that you’ve been tricking me for months! You don’t think that hurts?”

Taako crossed his arms and looked to the side. “It’s not the same thing,” he muttered.

“It is to me,” Angus said, feeling tears beginning to run down his face. “Just because the Director did all of this, doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about you. It just means she made some mistakes trying to do the right thing.”

“Oh, sure, take her side.”

“We’re all on the same side!” Angus argued. “I mean, aren’t we? We’re all trying to stop the Hunger. We’re all trying to protect the people we love.”

“Kid, you barely know what the Hunger is,” Taako ran a hand over his face, new tears mixing with the dried ones on his face. “And as for protecting people we love? What a joke. Every time I try to help, I end up losing someone. If I keep doing this shit, I’ll have no one left. Go ask someone else for help, you’re wasting your time with me.”

Angus opened his mouth to say something else, but broke off with a gasp as his arm lurched forward involuntarily. The umbra staff had dragged Angus back to the front of Taako’s cell, pointing its tip flush against the shimmering barrier that refused its entry.

Taako looked down at the staff and then up at Angus, confusion riddling his expression. “Kid, what are you-”

Taako was cut off by a powerful, flaming burst emitting from the tip of the umbra staff; a blast too powerful to have been cast by Angus. The scorching rays that shot out of the tip of the umbra staff tore at the barrier keeping Taako locked in, ripping the powerful spell away as if it were nothing but a spare bit of gossamer draped over the entrance to the cell. Angus and Taako hardly noticed the barrier’s absence though, their attention was glued on where the stream of flames was burning into the wall directly above Taako’s bed. It was all Angus could do to hold onto the handle of the umbra staff as it dragged his arm up and down, bending and curving with a methodical twist of Angus’ wrist.

The flames stopped and Angus’ arm collapsed against his side. Angus looked at the umbra staff, still settled in his shaking grip, and then looked at Taako with a panicked glance to ask what had just happened. But Taako was staring at the scorched wall of his prison cell, his eyes wide and unblinking. Angus had never seen Taako so bewildered before and looked to see what had caused such a reaction. Up above the bed, were three letters still flaming from where they’d been burned into the wall:

**_L U P_ **

“Taako, sir?” Angus asked after a long silence where Taako and he just stood staring at the message. “Th-That’s your sister’s name isn’t it?”

Taako tore his eyes away from the burnt letters on the wall to stare down at Angus in shock. “Who told you about my sister!?”

It was at that moment, the elevator doors dinged open. Angus and Taako reflexively snapped their eyes to the end of the hall, and both watched as Barry Bluejeans came huffing and puffing out of the elevator.

“Taako!” Barry called when he found his brother’s face, throwing a defensive spell over his shoulder at the cluster of shadowy enemies seeping from the elevator shaft. The elevator doors closed, creating a momentary blockade against the encroaching enemies.

Moving towards the other two, the shine of relieved tears built in Barry’s eyes. “Taako, you’re-”

Taako crashed into Barry, throwing his arms around him in the biggest display of affection Angus had ever seen from him. Barry hugged Taako back even tighter, rocking him from side to side as he let Taako bury his face in his shoulder to hide the fact that he was full-on ugly crying by then.

“I’m sorry,” Barry said, pressing his forehead against the top of Taako’s hair. “I’m sorry, I had no idea Lucretia would do this-”

“Shut up,” Taako said, moving away from Barry just enough to place his hands on either side of his brother’s face. “It’s not your fault. Apologize again and I’ll- I’ll- Oh, fuck it, I’m too relieved to even fake threaten you, Barold.” Taako pulled Barry back in for one more hug before taking his hand and leading him further down the hall to where Angus was standing. “Barry, you’ve gotta see this…”

Taako pointed at the letters on the wall and then, taking the umbra staff from Angus at last, held it up for Barry to see.

“It came from _her_ umbra staff, Barry,” Taako said, just as the question was leaving Barry’s mouth.

“But you- When did this happen!?”

“Just before you showed up,” Taako said. “I’d thought about it before, but now…”

“Taako, do you realize what this means?” Barry asked, grabbing Taako by the shoulders. “You found her!”

“Well, what the fuck are we waiting for, then!?” Taako asked, holding out the tip of the umbra staff for Barry to grab onto.

“Sir!” Angus called out, grabbing onto Taako’s sleeve and making him pay attention to him. “What’s gonna happen?”

“Don’t worry, Angus, just hold onto this for me” Taako said, putting the handle of the umbra staff into Angus’ hands. “I think it’s time you met the whole family!”

Rearing his foot back, Taako brought the sole of his boot down hard on the middle of the umbra staff and snapped it in two just as the elevator doors burst open and shadowy figures began to spill into the hallway.

* * *

As the Gap-Tooth Bandit dragged Angus McDonald into the Imperial City, he knew he’d brought them to their doom. And yet, despite that knowledge, the Gap-Tooth Bandit couldn’t bring himself to care and kept dragging Angus along even as shadowy beings began to conjure from every nook and cranny of that black opal city.

Angus tried to reason with the Gap-Tooth Bandit, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Gap-Tooth had made up his mind to have a miserable end to his own story, and there wasn’t enough ink in the world that would make him rewrite it.

In a last ditch effort to save both of their lives, Angus McDonald dug his feet into the ground and forced the Gap-Tooth Bandit to stop. They were stood in front of the armory, where the telltale rustling of weaponry being assembled inside told Angus he didn’t have much time before he and the Gap-Tooth Bandit were both buried beneath a stampede of guards.

“Kid, I swear, I will pick you up and drag you through this city over my shoulder if I have to,” the Gap-Tooth Bandit seethed, his eyes furious from where they peeked out from the black material of his mask.

“But, sir, it doesn’t have to be like this!”

“This is how I want it to be!” Gap-Tooth insisted. “And no one can change my mind!”

Just as the Gap-Tooth Bandit said that, an explosion sounded right next to where he and Angus stood, knocking the both of them horizontal. The armory had been blown to pieces, bullets spattering out in flaming streaks while explosives cluttered the air with a cacophony of destructive ruckus. Flames spread out from the smoldering remains of the armory, weaving around Angus and Gap-Tooth and taking out the shadowy beings encroaching on them. As the Gap-Tooth Bandit lifted his gaze to the explosion, a stream of fire licked carefully around his eyes and burned his mask to a pile of ashes.

One foot, and then another stepped out from the smoking remains of Governor Ravenous’ army and walked towards the Gap-Tooth Bandit and Angus McDonald. As the figure drew closer, a scarlet cloak became discernible from the vibrant flames which matched its color. The Red Bandit stood smiling over her brother’s bewildered form, lifting her arm with a practiced grace as Gap-Tooth and Angus watched in astonishment.

“Kaboom!” she said, setting off one final string of explosions with a snap of her fingers. Then, reaching into her cloak, the Red Bandit pulled out a delicate silver spoon and dangled it between Gap-Tooth and Angus’ gaping expressions.

“I heard you clowns might be looking for this,” the Red Bandit said, flashing her twin a triumphant smile.

"You heard right," the Gap-Tooth Bandit stood up, smiling back at his sister. "Let's go kick some Governor ass." 

* * *

The umbra staff broke open like a bomb had gone off. Taako, Barry, and Angus all were blown back by the impact of the explosion, but were otherwise unharmed by the volumes of flame bursting from the broken weapon that lay discarded on the ground. The flames gathered at the end of the hall where shadowy beings were spilling from the open elevator like blood from an open wound. The beings were vanquished in explosions of brilliant reds and pinks and yellows, leaving the hall of cells empty of enemies as the fiery display died down.

As the flames cleared away, a spectral figure in a red robe became visible where she hovered in the middle of the room. Taako lifted himself up from the ground just enough to look into the face of his sister as she turned around and said to him:

_“You’re writing self-insert fanfiction about the IPRE mission!?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter left :'(


End file.
